lundi 29 Nov 2010, 1h23m
These guys turn trashiness into an art form. When I was lucky enough to see them perform live at the Knitting Factory (when it was downtown, before it moved to cheaper pastures) they wore bizarre outfits. It felt like pirate punk rock, with paper mache heads.
It is dirty, noisy, kind of gross music. Of course I mean this in the most flattering way possible. All the right references are here: from the junk rock of Royal Trux to the fractured fuck-up of the early Residents. In case neither one of these things are your bag, they also do very odd dance punk.
Actually, it is the dance pop that you won’t be able to let leave your head. “Fast and Bulbous” that description penned by the great Captain Beefheart, would definitely apply to “George V”. I can’t even begin to describe why this song is so great, but I’ll try. The simplest bass comes in with a simple chord banged over and over again. Some French Canadian female sings incoherently into the microphone occasionally accompanied by an even more French Canadian male. Instead of a musical breakdown, you get that repetitive drum machine playing over random radio station scanning as the singer approximates what sounds like vomiting into the microphone. I love this song with all my heart.
Not every song works out so well. For each good song, there’s sometimes the following aimless meandering. They really do work as a bit more high energy; otherwise the heavy weirdness comes off as a little silly. “Didi Extra” has a more traditional getup than say “George V”. I think the refrain is something about a “big cock” but then part of the joy is having no idea what’s going on at all.
Overall, I prefer this to their much more dance orientated second release. This one just has way more fun in it. And although it is a bit indulgent, the obsessive weirdness makes up for it.