The National Acrobat "TNA: The Complete Recordings" CD
[Initial]
Here's the complete discography from Louisville's own "noise rock" elite. I liked what I heard from these guys when they were around, and this retrospective definitely reminds me that these cats were far, far better at what they do than most bands of this nature. They perfectly blended caustic and chaotic textures with tighter and more melodic riffing, the songwriting is interesting and memorable without being one-sided or stripped down, etc. The vocals also shift from half-spoken yelling to screaming or slight hints at singing, and everything is handled very thoughtfully. It's all controlled, there's not a bunch of random mess involved here. They always had solid recordings as well. Included are tracks from the "Can't Stop Casper Adams" CD EP, "It's Nothing Personal" 7", "The National Acrobat, For All Practical Purposes, Is Dead" CD EP, the "s/t" CD EP, and then some unreleased/compilation tracks as well. Cuts like the monumentally awesome "Ceramic Ages" are heavier and more obviously rhythmic (almost in a Helmet vein at times) without abandoning melody or quirkiness; "Don't Forget to Write" takes a more rocked out angle on the typical pull-off riff type of thing, "Triangular Wheel" is more spacious and driven by the rhythm section with a big time angular sort of indie vibe, etc. Rarely do the songs top three minutes, though things were a bit longer and more jarring towards the band's first EP. I actually enjoy the final "Can't Stop Casper Adams" EP most of all. Included among the random tracks at the end is an unreleased cover of the Sex Pistols' "Pretty Vacant". As mentioned the recordings are all quite good, sounding quite consistent with one another as things progress. Of course there are variations in the mix and the density of tones, but nothing sounds bad, and the mastering has been well executed. The layout is handled the way every god damn discography CD should be: Broken down by release, with each original album cover, original release information, all of the lyrics, tons of photos, etc. They get even nuttier by listing off every show they ever played - down to the venues, the bands they played with, and the members that played the damn shows. Insane! Most of the lyrics are personal and have a free sort of flow to the arrangements that I like: "You can inflict your pain upon me impeding bullets through my chest like the words that roll off of your tongue like a triangular wheel at its best words roll and lies live..." Very cool. I often tend to forget about this band, but they progressed with time and really struck gold with that last CD EP. This is a great look back at their recorded output. (7/10)
Running time - 76:40, Tracks: 30
[Notable tracks: The Mantis Romantic, Cataracts Have Spoken, Ceramic Ages, Mexican Movie Stars, Apter Into, Eyes the Size of Organs, Triangular Wheel, E'Town Idea Box, Pretty Vacant]
Initial Records - http://www.initialrecords.com

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