album of the week: 7.1

Parts & Labor

Constant Future

(2011)

why you'll love it: Actual songs, not just a noisy mess. Some nice synthwork.

why you'll hate it: boring, no variety whatsoever. Droning vocals.

When abrasive or unconventional bands turn to convention or melody, that's usually a sign that the innovative spark has been lost. That did not seem to be the case for noise rockers, Parts & Labor. Their 2007 album, Mapmaker, took occasional breaks from an oppressive wall of noise to deliver well paced crescendos. "Nowhere's Nigh" especially stuck out as a welcome surprise.

Constant Future spoils the fun of these surprises by making them the showpiece. As a result, nothing on this album stands out. There are a couple enjoyable subtle touches. The synthesizers are especially glitchy and random sounding. I'm still a sucker for some good old distorted bleep-blorps, but they don't distract enough from noticing it's basically the same song a dozen times over. None of the songs even deliver much of a knockout punch. I kept feeling like I was only on the tip of the iceberg with each track, and that the next one was gonna be the one that defines the album, but never got it.

If Parts & Labor wants to continue down this experiment with bite sized post-rock songs, they need to do something about their structure. It's too simple and predictable. They've got electronics, they can get loud, the tools are all there to make something truly unique. There may be a lot more attention to melody and performance in these kind of songs than their noisy past, but innovation in songwriting seems to have evaporated.