Fax Arcana/The Disease "We, The Bankrupt" CD
[Alone]
Fax Arcana opens this brief split CD with four tracks of their uniquely frenzied indie rock, ranging from slightly jarring and caustic textures to eerily flowing clean passages or even hints at metallic leanings by way of some dissonant note-based riffs. And of course the vocals are quite unusual, still striking me as Danzig-esque singing (just at a higher pitch). I really enjoy this band's lyrics and overall approach, but I'm still not quite able to get into 'em. "Two Shades of Stricken" really picks up into some nice arrangements once it gets going, certainly making for the most memorable song I've heard from this band to date; but "Pink Slip for a Silhouette", by contrast, has some really generic discordant riffing that rubs me the wrong way. Their recording is cool, though. Everything is mixed tightly together, the bass plays a good role, and the sound is warm and natural, keeping the vocals slightly distant for added effect. The lyrics are a tossup as far as meaning, as there are hints at numerous avenues, but nothing concrete, and I highly admire their creative approach: "Daylight breaks like a bone through tinted glass for obsoletists and the like. Witness a memory fresh under the scalpel not only lost but in lust. A paperwork paradise scattered and skinned clean to the cuticle." Very interesting. The Disease follows with another four songs of similarly jarring indie rock, but it's definitely more typical here and there, at times coming off like a more aggressive Fugazi circa "In on the Killtaker" by adding in thicker bass tones and heavier passages with some flagrant screaming. It's far better than what I heard from them before, though. The focus is definitely on rhythm, allowing drums and bass to run the show oftentimes, while guitars remain controlled but less structured in a sense. If nothing else I like how the guitar and bass parts interact with one another, and faulted as it may be there are some really cool things going on. "Beautiful Girls" is much slower and more ominous than the other songs at the start, bringing in some acoustic guitars and clearer vocals to contrast the screaming and plodding heaviness, but either way this is an amazing passage that's 10 times more powerful than anything else here. The only real blemish is "Dead Serpents", a brief instrumental driven by annoying hipster keyboard tones, drum programming, and reversed samples of speaking (eventually flipping over into John Lovitz's classic rant from "Happiness") - which makes no sense in the context of the other three songs at all. Keyboards also muck up the otherwise moving melodies in "White Line Fever" by basically drowning things out, so I'd highly advocate tossing that crap out the window. I think their production could use more punch and clarity, too. It all feels a little thin for what they're doing, and some of the heavier stuff suffers as a result. The lyrics seem personal but keep it relatively open, repeating phrases often but still hitting on strong moments. "Your skin should be made of glass. So slick and polished. Now's the time that this ends." The layout looks great, using clean arrangements, metallic silver inks, and a blend of layered illustrations and textures with a wealth of strange symbols. Very curious stuff... it's hard to be sure if the imagery all applies to the potential meanings of the songs or a concept for the release or what? I don't know. I'm not blown away, but both of these bands could do some amazing shit if they keep pushing forward. (6/10)
Running time - 23:27, Tracks: 8
[Notable tracks: Two Shades of Stricken, Beautiful Girls]
Alone Records - http://www.alonerecords.com

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