OPERATOR PLEASE – Just A Song About Ping Pong (Double 7″ EP)

Brille BRILEP17S: 19th February 2007
1. Just A Song About Ping Pong
“I got another fifty seconds and I’m ready to play”
2. Crash Tragic
“Operator, operator please, I think my brain has got a disease, operator, operator please, I don’t like when people see my knees”
3. Get What You Want
“Attack, attack, my disposition, your tennis shoes, oh get your ten issues, what ever am I to do?”
4. Two For My Seconds
“It’s fantastic, mesmerise my memory, childhood thoughts can comfort me, in this house of mine”
5. Waiting By The Car
“This ain’t lying, speak the truth, droppin’ names, I know it works for you”

Operator Please are a band for anyone like me that felt Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ latest offering just wasn’t crazy enough. This new release on Brille from Australian band Operator Please packages together their first four-track EP with a new song called ‘Just A Song About Ping Pong’. It features a rapid-fire, tongue-twisting, half Rapped chorus set against slashing Guitars and dramatic drumming. They even find time to slip in some handclaps and a Violin break which adds up to the most exciting couple of minutes I’ve heard in a long while. I’ll have to take their word that it’s “Just A Song About Ping Pong” since I can barely make out the lyrics… but who cares when it’s this good.

Their theme song ‘Crash Tragic’ is a rabid take on 60s girl-group Pop with creepy horror movie keyboards. ‘Get What You Want’ has got a rumbling Bass line so deep that it makes everything around me shake, a bit of Manzarek Organ and some thrilling Cobain-like Guitar strangulation. ‘Two For My Seconds’ stands out instantly from the first three thrashers because it’s a simple well crafted Pop song. The lovely strings and summery melody had me whistling along and it’s got the feel of a breezier Arcade Fire. The last song has a mental Violin attempting a duel with a Heavy Guitar riff to stunning effect. This is a wholly satisfying five-course meal of an EP and a great way to spend a quarter of an hour. An album is promised later in the year and I can’t wait.

You can buy the EP digitally from Rough Trade for £3.49 by clicking here.

Here are links to watch a tour film on YouTube: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4.

Operator Please Website / Operator Please MySpace
Brille Website / Brille MySpace