Between the final Throbbing Gristle albums and last year's stellar Carter Tutti Void collaboration, Chris and Cosey have been maintaining an atypically high profile as of late, which makes it easy to forget that there has not been a new Carter Tutti album in over five years.  While that situation is not expected to be remedied until sometime in 2014, this very solid 10" single makes for a very welcome teaser in the meantime.
This release takes its unusual title from the manufacturer of a metal lampshade that Delia Derbyshire famously "played" in some of her BBC Radiophonic Workshop work in the '60s.  Now that lampshade has made its triumphant return, as Chris and Cosey managed to track down one of their own after seeing Delia's in a museum exhibit a while back. As far as lampshades go, this one proved to be remarkably versatile as an instrument.  In fact, I never would have guessed it was involved if I had not read about it, as "Coolicon" basically sounds like the middle ground between Carter Tutti and Carter Tutti Void: a trance-y, propulsive quasi-industrial groove with an understated hook augmented mingled with some noisier atmospherics.  It is certainly poppier and more sensual than anything on the Carter Tutti Void album (even though Cosey does not sing at all), but Cosey's lampshade-bowing occasionally provides some ugly and Gristle-worthy metallic grind.
The B-side ("Coolicon-Fusion") is essentially the same piece, yet transformed into something nearly unrecognizable.  It is not so much a dub version as it is a skeletal, slow-motion, ghostly caricature, as all the textures are different and it feels like all of the life and soul has been drained from the piece.  As a consequence, it is inherently less vibrant and instantly gratifying than its previous incarnation, but it is still quite likable in its own throbbing, vaguely menacing way.  At times it even weirdly reminds me of 23 Skidoo or Zoviet France, as the crescendo features some forlorn horn-like sounds and percussive noises that could reasonably described as "sci-fi tribal."
Of course, being a mere single, Coolicon is exasperatingly brief, but it is still an impressively strong, worthy effort.  It is also a fairly ingenious one, as the transformation that the piece undergoes for the nightmarish B-side is truly radical.  Carter and Tutti were presumably quite pleased with the two pieces as well, as this is the first time that they have been inspired to release a single in over 20 years.  I still think it seems like a bit of an odd choice for the duo to release a single with no vocals, but that does not make this release any less enjoyable: Coolicon does a fine job of continuing (and building upon) the momentum from last year's Nik Void collaboration and reaffirms my belief that the duo is probably in the midst of their third of fourth Golden Age.  Also, if anyone has released a better lampshade-inspired song this year, I sure as hell have not heard it yet.
 
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