Stay Fucked "Fades, Shape-Ups, and Blow Out" 3
[self-released]
Eight brief tracks of largely instrumental material that's kind of like math rock with an abrasive indie edge. Lots of quick stops, heavy emphasis on rhythm, lots of quirky and loose sort of guitar parts that are on the noisier side of things, etc. No song hits three minutes, and there's definitely a sense of humor to this stuff, as if the band name didn't clue you in. Sometimes when they're at their most caustic, as in "Posrednictwo Pracy", I'm not really into it all. "Hellbroth Cauldron" is the first track that uses actual vocals, some distorted yells, but that gives the track a totally different sense of structure, making for a more memorable piece of work. There's usually a varying degree of subtle melody here, especially in the awesome opener "Nicole's House", and that helps. The recording's fine. Really dry, but fine. The guitars are hard panned (I don't think they always use bass, but if/when they do it's always in the right channel), which makes for some really interesting interaction. The overall sound is more of that live in the studio sort of indie vibe, but it's not a messy sounding record at all, there's definitely dimension to it, and I like the mix. The disc comes in a tiny color sleeve with a tolerable layout considering the humorous nature of it all. Yeah, it looks a little weak, but the cover photo is pretty hilarious, and the band dressing up like weird 70-year-old tennis yuppies or something is worth a chuckle, I suppose. I like most of this. I think they should get their playing as tight as possible, and even though some of this is intentionally loose or sloppy, I think they could still stand to reign that stuff in a bit to keep the chops focused. I'd love to hear more stuff along the lines of "Nicole's House", especially. (6/10)
Running time - 18:16, Tracks: 8
[Notable tracks: Nicole's House, Hellbroth Cauldron]
Stay Fucked - http://stayfucked.blogspot.com

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