Arising from the eerie hum of unknown machines, Brian Case’s cover of Ship Building taps into the electronic terror of the early 80s. Â It’s a cover from an alternate timeline where Elvis Costello gave the song to Throbbing Gristle rather than Robert Wyatt. Â Of course in this timeline TG were fronted by Alan Vega as Genesis was busy being Postmaster General, but I digress.
Case’s version is relentless, built on a thudding drum pattern, distant explosions and the electronic hum that most approximates a fly sparing with an electric light. Â It’s Industrial in the same way that Eraserhead’s soundtrack is Industrial. Â It’s the surreal madness of machines that’s captured not their percussive energy. Â Which is fitting given the conflict and melancholy of its subject matter.
Ship Building is taken from Brian Case’s new album Spirit Design. Â It’s out on 25th August and you can pre-order it (and potentially get it early) right here.