Jacques Charlier - Kiliwatch

Musique Plastique and Seance Centre have combined forces for an intriguing 7 that presents two sides of the multi-disciplinary artist, Jacques Charlier. Somewhat of an outlier in what was already a relatively left of centre 80s Belgian avant garde (think From Brussels with Love, the Les Disques du Crepuscule universe et al), Charlier's autodidactic approach draws obvious comparisons to much of the contemporaneous post-punk experimentations of that era but is also possessed of a unique restlessness that marks it out as somewhat on the outside of all that. The cold wave overtones of Kiliwatch brought to mind Lives of Angels as much as any of his Belgian peers, but it's Loulou on the flip that really intrigues, recalling the kraut psych explorations of the guitar-led work of Sensations Fix and a very non post-punk open-ended looseness. It's five minutes long, though i could happily sit through at least another five. V. limited import copies, with just 150 made in total, these wont hang around long. Highly recommended.