Weights and Measures - Tonight, the Lower Abdominals EP
(Matlock)
Weights and Measures is sort of a Readers Digest version of Don Caballero-style instru-metal math rock. Much like the Minutemen, Weight and Measures see the roadmap of a song and present it in its shortest and therefore purest form, creating songs that are usually under 2 minutes long. Their latest release, Tonight, the Lower Abdominals, is a great example of their thrift in song length, packing six songs into a 14 minute long EP, just long enough for your nightly Abs of Steel exercises.
The EP starts off loud and fast with "My God Can Beat Up Your God" and stays loud and fast pretty much throughout the EP. For each song, speedy, chunky riffs are thrown out, then they mess around with the tempo a little bit, and then the song is over--time to move to the next idea. "A Most Efficient Method of Removing the Pants" is the most epic song at 4 minutes and 18 seconds, and, of course, with a song of such epic length, there are quite a few changes in tempo and style, at times being faster and harder but incrementally mellowing out until they sound like a (still!) faster version of June of 44. They used to call it speed metal, you know like Megadeth, but now let's just call it fast. Before you know it you are at the last song, "The Weekend is for Making Babies," which starts off more melodic, like a Dianogah song, before decomposing into the chunkiest chunk of all to end the EP.
Take Weights and Measures as something like an antidote to Ritalin. The band is always fast and jumpy, quickly going from one idea to the next, causing the listener not only to perk up but also lose total train of thought. I guess if you want more repetition in the songs to draw them out more, you can always just hit repeat, something you could never do with Minutemen LPs. As it is, Weights and Measures is a tight, interesting band, although a bit hyperactive.
|
