The Dropscience - Experimenting With Contrast
(Happy Couples Never Last)

Remember that moment when indie rock turned to post rock? Right before Tortoise when American kids playing rhythmically compelling, aggressive guitar rock all loved Rodan, but Rodan themselves had turned to something else? Yeah, those were good times. Good times, indeed. Remember how many cool rock t-shirts you had? Now it seems that rock bands just have crappy t-shirts and you’d rather keep your money to buy some gas or something.

I bet the Dropscience love Rodan. And that’s cool, because Rusted is one of the all time ass-kickers. In fact, you can hear it in their amp tones, and the way their guitar lines are heavy and sharp, but their interplay is delicate and balanced. Sometimes their dubby bass lines make you think more of June of ’44, and sometimes the vocals make you think of Guy from Fugazi. The thing that I am having a tough time figuring out, though, is why, since I have loved and still love Rodan, June of ’44, Drive Like Jehu, Fugazi, Jawbox, and all of that stuff, when I hear bands in 2001 that sound like 1994, I have such hard time with them. I don’t think records by those other bands have aged poorly, but when I hear bands today that are inspired by them, it's kind of like how all of the Deadheads have tried to make Phish the new Dead.

This record has all the markings of one all the kids would have obsessed over a few years ago. It's got a sample from 2001. They cover a Phil Collins song on a quasi-hidden track. They’ve got tons of guitars and they are all "angular." The music is tightly wound, filled with an incredible amount of tension, as are the very intense vocals. It was recorded by Gar Wood (formerly of Tanner, currently recording San Diego rock and roll bands) and features a guest vocal spot by the dude from Clikitat Ikatowi. If those facts pique your interest, than this is the record for you, because it's all about that kind of stuff.

dave christensen 2001 aug 17