Push-Pull
"Between Noise and the
Indians" CD
Joyful Noise
Genre: rock, math-rock
Bloomington, IN
October 2009 |
With the voracity of a
helicopter's blades, Push-Pull brings on the energy with this
delightful slab of chaos. By the non-sequitur track titles alone, you
know there's going to be a considerable math-rock influence present,
and Between Noise And The Indians does not disappoint. These
folks certainly know their way around a time signature or eight, but
vocals and catchy choruses are also significant contributors to the
noise. It's kind of like Don Caballero, The Dismemberment
Plan, and The Jesus Lizard all thrown into a wood chipper
together.
Through all the
gushing power riffs, frenetic drumming, and impassioned
singing/yelling, a few tracks stand out as essential. Anthemic
"Fire" hits with the heaviness of high-end Helmet, and "The
Geek" boasts a gnarly Archers of Loaf (in)sensibility. Even
the Weezer-esque rock of "The Lake" and the clever
Flying Lizard/Foreigner references of "$" do much to advance the
longevity of this record. Unfortunately, the band also stumbles its
way over a common pitfall. The never-ending chaos on this record can
be a bit much to take in at once; some of the weaker tracks could
have been omitted in the interest of conciseness. Enthusiasm can be
infectious, but this much sustained energy is hard on the mind
and the ears. Maybe I'm just growing soft with age, but I was
yearning for a reprieve halfway into this album.
Before I close
things up, I have to comment on the production work on this record.
This type of dynamic, frequently heavy music is like the
double-diamond slope of the sound tech world, but the folks at
Russian Recording have done an admirable job, striking a nice
balance between polish and grime. However, the vocals are often a
tad low in the mix, resulting in a perhaps not-completely-intentional basement vibe ("Pockets," for example, might have been a
much more convincing moment of melody had the singing been given
more prominence).
Still, Push-Pull
should be congratulated for creating a lively, intense record with a
lot to recommend it. They haven't rewritten the book of rock music,
but they've made a type of record that deserves to be blasted
through vast, hard-surfaced rooms.
push-pull's myspace
Matt Shimmer
[Vitals: 13 tracks, distributed by
the
label,
released June 23, 2009] |