20
The Plot To Blow Up The Eiffel Tower
Dissertation, Honey
"Exhibitionism" – 1:02
"Sometimes I Wish I'd Lost a Leg" – 1:33
"One Stab Deserves Another" – 2:49
"Funeral Procession" – 1:28
"For Marcus" – 2:53
"Johnny, You're All Grown Up" – 2:12
"Her Health Violation" – 1:37
"Attached to the Hip" – 3:12
"Circuit" – 1:51
"It's in His Kiss" – 1:37
"Comeback 1968" – 1:19
"Safety is Of" – 2:33
"Monotonous" – 1:25
Sadly, this band split up in 2006, but fortunately their brief existence spawned two great albums. Many prefer Love In A Fascist Brothel, indeed i thoroughly recommend it, but for me this is the better album. The reason for this is primarily the fusion of punk and jazz i feel is more apparent here than on their latter work.
The album begins and ends with poetry excerpts from Kailani Amerson, but in between this calm reflection is 30 minutes or so of uncontainable energy and aggression. The strength of it is its unpredictability. One minute the album will burst into a flurry of power chords and fuzzing bass lines before suddenly, without warning, receding into a slow, sanguine jazz improv with a sax solo... before again exploding with punk intensity.
The band were known for their confrontational, wild live shows. This is conveyed perfectly on the album. There is an urgency and desperation, evident in songs such as For Marcus and Safety Is Of..., that underpins the entire duration of the piece. Consequently, you cant take your ears off of it as it twists, weaves and at times pummels its way through post-punk, spazzcore and all out noisecore influences.
Yet for those thinking this album sounds like a melieu of different styles and genres meshed into one, incoherent, disorientating whole, you'd be incorrected. Yes, its intense, yes its unpredictable, but there is a maturity both in the songs and the layout of the album as a whole. Complex time signatures, purposefully placed jazz resbites and at times an accessable,well choreographed pop sensibility (listen to Attached To The Hip for a great pop song drenched in a punk aesthetic) make this album hugely rewarding to the listener IMO.