Let's get this straight--it's pronounced "Chk Chk Chk" or "Chick Chick Chick." Or, really, any onomatopoeia repeated thrice will do (my friend's personal favorite is Sizzle Sizzle Sizzle). Now, with that out of the way, you're probably wondering "what sort of music would a band with such a name write? Something enigmatic and unusual, right?" And the answer is yes. !!! has a unique mix of psychedelic funk with trance and dance beats (they call it 'dance-punk'). For the most part, it's a pretty enjoyable mix. Myth Takes is full of great tracks laced with tongue-in-cheek humor and bass lines that you'll never forget, and I'd recommend it to almost anyone. Plus, your indie-snob cred skyrockets with a band whose name consists solely of punctuation.
The title cut starts things off smoothly; Nic Offer's slightly demonic whisper cuts through a bassy, funky wall of sound with lines like "Sometimes it really glitters, and sometimes it's even gold, baby, when it isn't, then it must be rock 'n' roll!" Next up is the delightfully insane All My Heroes Are Weirdos. The drum groove is absurdly catchy, Offer's vocals and lyrics are fittingly ridiculous ("Hey ho, there's an open casting call for heroes/ but all that showed up was Nero...p!ssed in the wind and said it was raining..."), and a touch of marching percussion is just icing on the cake. Then there's the even funkier Must Be the Moon, led by Tyler Pope's great bass line and a chorus that seems designed for maximum hook. This song simply will not leave your head, and you probably won't want it to--all six minutes are full of catchiness and dance-ready fun.
A New Name shows !!!'s spacier side; Offer's voice soars to a surprisingly high falsetto, and most of the song consists of psychedelic instrumental jams. Unfortunately most of the songs in this vein don't succeed quite so well; Yadnus is repetitive to the point of annoyance, and Break in Case of Anything is too simple for its own good. Fortunately the funkier songs are more frequent, such as Heart of Hearts. Another dance-ready groove dominates this track, but a female vocalist shows up to add some variety to the chorus. The sheer emphasis on dance-readiness makes the lengthy instrumental outro fairly enjoyable, even when the synths start squealing to an uncharacteristic level.
For those who are looking for more of these instrumental tangents, there's the 8:08 Bend Over Beethoven. About two minutes into a fairly straightforward (for this band, anyway) track, Offer gives his voice a rest for about five minutes, letting his bandmates jam and slowly crescendo as the chorus returns. For whatever reason, the grooves are catchy enough to keep me interested the whole way through. Too bad I can't say the same for Infinifold. It strikes me as incredibly bizarre to end an album of tongue-in-cheek, addictive dance-punk with a somber piano ballad. What's weird is that I enjoy the song in itself, but it seems rather out of place here.
However I still must wholeheartedly recommend this album to almost anyone. The strange style is far more accessible than electronica outfits like Animal Collective or even Klaxons, and really, I can't find much to dislike except for a few dud tracks. If you're looking for the new millennium's version of funk, look no further.
Final Scores
1. Myth Takes--86%
2. All My Hereos are Weirdos--93%
3. Must Be the Moon--95%
4. A New Name--85%
5. Heart of Hearts--90%
6. Sweet Life--87%
7. Yadnus--75%
8. Bend Over Beethoven--88%
9. Break In Case of Anything--73%
10. Infinifold--80%
4 Stars
Good for Fans of...Klaxons
No comments:
Post a Comment