Pubic Fruit

AMG Review of Pubic Fruit

Tom Demalon
All Music Guide

Pubic Fruit is not a proper follow-up to Curve's debut full-length, instead gathering together three of the band's earlier EP releases that had only been released in the U.K. and adding the previously unavailable 12" version of "Faît Accompli." Despite the album being a compilation of sorts, it holds together quite nicely and provides a good look at the band's work up until its debut release. Much of the material is produced by the band and Steve Osborne, and isn't nearly as dense as Curve's debut, which benefited from their work with Flood. The non-focus tracks of the EPs are every bit the equal of the songs that eventually found their way onto Doppelgänger, with many of them being true gems. "No Escape from Heaven" features a sultry vocal performance by Toni Halliday over a galloping percussive beat and drive-by bursts of guitar. And "Cherry" is the high point of this collection. The song starts out quietly with hushed vocals and subtle keyboards before the drums signal a blast of fuzz guitars and everything crashes into a riveting sound collage.