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You won't catch The Samps. Little is known about the elusive recording trio, sprung from various nooks in the state of California (USA) to your ears; now. Word has it their ranks include one called Cole, guitarist with Haunted Graffiti, as well as dude from Whitemare II and another, known only as Charland Nurknart AKA Doktorberis. The sounds they make - refer to the "Mashed Skins" and "Magnetic Thys" slung your way below - reflect these slippery folk, if not the lo-fi origins of Ariel Pink et al. Instead The Samps move hyperactive in high def; stomping beats until they break, moving from clubland to smoke filled ride in the space of synths that flutter like one of Moroder's b*st*rds and/or a gleaming Californian minute.

Rolling in on tubs thumped like they were once Burundi and bruised by Malcolm McClaren’s ‘80s pop tykes Bow Wow Wow, Stricken City re-strike that band’s awkwardly lusty poses into awkwardly romantic ones; frontgirl Rebekah Raa sweet where 14-year-old Annabella Lwin made desperate lunges for your 'candy'. The young London quartet can trace their origins back, way back and before GCSES, to Raa and guitarist Iain Pettifer’s maths lessons. In 2006 Kit Godfrey was brought in to thump those tubs and Mike Hyland joined on bass in August this year. Together they work through "Lost Art", low-end slipping and sliding all over the place beneath guitars that are altogether more elegant, their crunch and willingness to leave things unsaid recalling the pained restraint of Young Marble Giants. The remix is to be treasured – lazily psychedelic with synths that burble like the proverbial brook, Gold Panda sends Raa’s voice to the back of the class, making her swap seats with the bad-boy bass which teacher catches in a loop in an effort to stunt its more erratic tendencies.

Sounds Like: Flying Lotus, Gang Gang Dance, El Guincho

Exclusive Download: Stricken City - Lost Art (Gold Panda Remix)

Stream: Stricken City - Lost Art

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