!!! - Myth Takes

Sorry for the lack of posting lately but I took a bit of a blog break last week, with the exception of the Cold War / Tokyo Police concert review. Once in a while I’m kind of a busy guy, believe it or not. However, while not writing, I was still listening to a lot of music.

!!! is a band that I really shouldn’t like. First of all, their name is unpronounceable. That’s annoying. Secondly they play sprawling dance punk music with completely inane lyrics. However, when I started listening to “Myth Takes” in my ipod while doing the dishes, my booty started shaking and my feet could not stop moving. While my dancing will likely be enough to turn everybody else off of their music, I have to admit that there is something addictive about their style of new wave P-Funk. They’re not a band to be taken seriously, but they are a band strictly made for dancing and having fun. My favourite song has the great title “All My Heroes Are Weirdos.” It has an enigmatic thump to it, and the way he turns “weirdos” into a 3 syllable word makes me laugh. While it’s true that certain aspects of the album will likely grate on me depending on my mood, overall this is probably their most accessible release and it’s one where they sound like they’ve finally found their groove.

!!! are playing Lee’s Palace on May 19^th.

Download:
All My Heroes Are Weirdos mp3
Heart of Hearts mp3

!!! on myspace.
Purchase "Myth Takes" on amazon.ca

Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?

Of Montreal have really got their nose to the funk-stone on their latest offering, “Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?” Incorporating a heady mix of Prince-like soul, Flaming Lips influenced weirdness and even quite a bit of disco, this CD is as infectious as it gets. Now when I say disco, I don’t mean real disco, but I mean the type of disco that mainstream 70’s pop bands would occasionally venture into, like Alan Parsons or ELO (and by the way, does it sound like a lot of bands are being compared to ELO these days? Has pop finally eaten itself?)

If you stop dancing long enough to listen to the lyrics, you’ll recognize that the content is actually rather depressing. The song, “Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse” occasionally utters the phrase “c’mon mood shift, shift back to good again.” What’s funny is that I actually found myself laughing when that line was uttered because it’s set to the happiest beat I’ve ever heard. “A Sentence Of Sorts In Kongsvinger” starts out sounding like one-hit wonder George McRae’s "Rock Your Baby" from 1974 before turning into an Abba-esque type of number. (And yes, the song titles are all strange like that.) The CD’s central piece is a little ditty called “The Past Is A Grotesque Animal” which is a bit of an animal itself, clocking in at almost 12 minutes in length. It’s completely cynical and emotional and very very angry. "Some how you red rovered the Gestapo circling my heart." Yep, definite issues. Overall, a pretty strong album although it’s about partway through that song, when the CD starts to feel a bit long for me. It’s only 50 minutes long, but it feels a lot longer for some reason. Still, it’s one of the most original releases so far this year, and if you’re looking for something new, and you know what it’s like to feel alone, this CD is perfect for you.

Of Montreal will be at The Opera House on March 13th. Tickets are $15.

Download:
Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse mp3

Visit Of Montreal’s myspace page.
Purchase “Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?” here.