Transistor Transistor "Erase All Name and Likeness" CD
[Level-Plane]
I think this might be the band's debut full-length, and even though this style isn't really my thing, they've improved upon their past work and I can definitely get into a lot of this stuff. Expect a foundation built largely around noisy rock 'n' roll with lots of shifts between forceful chord progressions and frantic, jarring textures, all the while with vocals that waver between scathing distorted screams and spoken passages - with everything in between. Unlike most bands of this general nature, these guys have learned how to really rock out though (just check the aptly titled and stripped down "Power Chord Academy", among others), achieving a great balance between churning heaviness, strange discordance, acerbic noisiness, and varying degrees of melody. Hell, "Songsanstitle" even breaks out some raw clean and acoustic guitars and layered melodies for a much darker and more emotional sound that uses a persistent rhythm and effective repetition to create a less quirky song structure that I really enjoy. "Curse You All Kids" is another rocked out number that uses some killer vocal tradeoffs and, dare I say, is pretty damn catchy when it cuts the shit and goes all out; with "Empathy" and "Straight to Hell" slowing things down and bringing in a few more of the darker atmospheres - though much differently than "Songsanstitle" did. The latter even sounds similar to a thicker Fugazi musically (though of course the vocals are quite dissimilar to said legends). Closer "A Sinking Ship Full of Optimists" even runs longer than a massive 13 minutes, starting slowly with faintly whispered vocals and relatively sparse clean guitars, then picking up a little over two minutes in and solidifying itself as the by far most intense and moody track herein with a plodding rhythm that's heavy without being even half as distorted as the bulk of the material - letting the rhythm section exert itself more than anything. Five minutes in this approach drops back to a soft, slow tapping riff that builds back in over a large span of time (it's more than a minute before an added guitar lead sees the light, and about two-and-a-half before sparse percussion and whispering join 'em). Things get heavy again, or heavier, I should say, around the 10-minute mark to bring things to and end, retaining that drawn out tempo that just kind of crawls along at a steady pulse... this makes for a killer finale, too! The disc was recorded by Kurt Ballou, and as usual I'm thrilled with the results. The rhythm section sounds phenomenal, with absolutely pounding basslines pushing forward behind the guitars and resting alongside perfectly warm percussion that has a great feel happening. The vocals are also mixed deep in against the music so as to make for a cohesive listen that has a little extra character to it, without reaching any kind of irritating level. The guitars are also really warm and effective, so overall the mix is really wound together without feeling messy, mirroring the way that the performances are always controlled without lacking their share of grit or rugged aggression. The layout keeps it simple yet effective with black and white photographs collaged over dirty and worn white paper with sketchy lines and handwritten text for damn near every single bit of content in the entire package sans the label's logo. Lyrically the material is somewhat clouded but hints at the ideas expressed with stream of consciousness types of flows: "I swear to you I'm not like this, We betray ourselves betrayed by the past tense, And we choke and we claw on a mouthful of consequence, Melting away my name and likeness..." This is a damn good record. Certainly better than what I last heard from the group. If you liked 'em before you'll probably flip over this. I'm hard to please when it comes to this stuff, but they've scored with this one. I like it, damnit. It's a little long and gets tired at a few points, but fuck it. Good work. (7/10)
Running time - 48:48, Tracks: 11
[Notable tracks: Power Chord Academy, Songsanstitle, Curse You All Kids, A Sinking Ship Full of Optimists]
Level-Plane Records - http://www.level-plane.com

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