plan B

This friday, I intended to see Obits play in Philly, but a heart problem has kept singer Rick Froberg sidelined for the summer.

The Free Music Archive has posted another live show, so I guess this will have to do for now.

album of the week: 7.2

Does it Offend You, Yeah?

Don't Say We Didn't Warn You

(2011)

why you'll love it - big big energy, crunchy crunchy synths!

why you'll hate it - the pop songs are a bit dull, ignorant nonsense rock

Does it Offend You, Yeah? dug themselves a cozy little niche in 2008, with their debut You Have No Idea What You Are Getting Yourself Into. It was a big KFC family bowl of glitch, electrona, 80's synthpop, and hard rock. A little bit of Daft Punk, LCD Soundsystem, Man or Astro-Man?, and Duran Duran; but nothing to carry personality or relevance of their own.

Being like an electronic Swiss Army Knife of spaz rock, is kind of their thing, and they're sticking with it on Don't Say We Didn't Warn You. Their threats are tongue-in-cheek, but certainly not empty. This is a louder, crunchier, more unpredictable collection of songs. They seemed to have streamlined the kitsch that made their 80's ballad type songs (like "Dawn of The Dead") so great on the debut, but the heavy artillery tracks have been upgraded. Some songs sound like tracks from the last album remixed, faxed, blended, and bolted back together. This is a good thing. "Yeah" kicks last album's "Weird Science" to the curb like old inferior hardware.

Most interesting in this release are the group's choice of samples. They really come out of nowhere. "Wrestler" is the most memorable song on here, due to its killer quote from a decade+ old documentary, Beyond The Mat. The use of this random youtube video makes "The Monkeys Are Coming" into one the wackiest songs I've heard all year. And that's tough to do in the company of a new Polysics release.

This is Pop Rocks. Stupid music made to appeal to the very root of your senses, if you enjoy electronic rock. There is nothing more too it. It's not even all that wildly abstract or challenging. It's just party music for strange people, and I'm totally cool with that. All they did was remake their first album (even down to the rotation of energy through the track list), but I'm cool with that too! Just keep those crazy pills coming.

last time I talk about Bit.Trip Runner

I'm just super proud of myself for getting all of the game's gold bars (not counting bonus rounds)

Here is me perfecting the final stage.

Bit.Trip Runner 3-11 (Rusty Warren): PERFECT from Mike on Vimeo.

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.

Summer Beatz

Digital videogame distributor, Steam, is having a Summer sale. Like The Potato Pack earlier thsi year, easter eggs are being patched into the game for a limited time. Gotta love Commander Video's new getup in Bit.Trip Runner.