I've seen !!! (yes, that's the name of the band, and it's pronounced as any three
syllables [ie: "chik-chik-chik" or "uh-uh-uh"]) twice now, and they remain one of
my favorite live bands in this world. It's a bunch of hardcore and punk kids
who've decided to implement the funk into the punk. Sounds awful, you say? Go
and see this band in action, and then decide.
There's seven (or more) of them and they come from Sacramento. They're for all
intents and purposes hippies (or at least they smell bad enough). The drummer
has a Christian Marclay-esque side project using modified records and turntables
that he uses to warm up (or turn off) the audience at shows. They have more
energy than just about any band I've ever seen. They will make even the most
uptight white boy start dancing. And most of them play in the brilliant Outhud
(now signed to Kranky).
This full-length LP comes about four years after !!! started playing together.
Maybe they've been too busy with Outhud, or maybe it's because they're space
cases, but it's exciting to finally hear a record from them after this long. Their
only other recorded output (as far as I know) is the 7" on Hopscotch from a year
or two ago, and the fantastic Outhud/!!! remix 12".
The LP contains seven songs, each about six minutes long (and the order listed
on the back of the jacket is incorrect). Two guitarists, a bassist, a drummer, and
a singer remain solid throughout while the other two members (and sometimes
the singer) play horns and additional percussion.
After the live show, which is utterly explosive (and should not be missed), the LP
comes as a bit of a disappointment. The vocals, which work well live for their
motivational purposes, fall a bit flat and come off as oafish. Lyrically, !!! seem
closer to their punk roots than they do musically. "Storm the Legion," probably
the standout track, is not quite a straight-edge song, but one where vocalist Nic
questions the ultimate good of his youthful drug experimentation. Many of the
other songs rely on dance-music clichés such as calls for dancing and getting
down; "Intensify" features a breakdown with a bunch of people clapping and
shouting "Can you feel it intensify?"
The recording is pretty well done; the guitars clatter around like beads dropped
on metal, and the bassist is solid in anchoring everything together (as you have
to be if you play bass in a funk band). "Storm the Legion" has a great
use of dynamics and tension/release songwriting. "Feel Good Hit of the Fall" is
actually somewhat inspiring and uplifting; even when I'm tired I feel like jumping around to it.
Their rhythms are undeniable and the guitar work is fairly innovative. !!! take the
punk genre and infuse it with something that breathes a lot of life into it. They
don't sound like the Big Boys as much as ESG or Liquid Liquid; you may think of
Gang of Four but they'd probably just say that James Brown is their big influence.
This album doesn't really live up to their potential, but translating their energy into
vinyl is a near impossibility.
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