Page 30 - the NOISE August 2012

worst track on the album. “A Woman Named Trudy” is an instant classic however. I also love the simplicity of “Somebody’s Phone is Ringing.”
If you’ve been missing Johnson’s baritone
Chain & the Gang; Parquet Courts.
“I don’t believe in free will, I just do what I feel. I don’t believe in free speech, I can’t stand what they teach, I can’t stand what they preach. I don’t believe in free love, all those kisses and hugs, I prefer turtle doves, I just can’t believe it when they say that it’s free, you cut in line, ex- perience everything, quite expensively.” Ameri- cans’ lack of accountability, their idea of free- dom to that Troggy dance beat that has never failed any band ever.
Get free. Viva communist rock.
Irony abounds.
While the Make Up became more and more
ambitious and in the pocket as they called it a day, (reunion gig forthwith!) Chain and the Gang fall apart and get simpler and simpler as this album reaches a rather anti-climactic con- clusion. The music starts to enter Raincoats and Swell Maps territory, which are not references that get used to describe new music nearly enough.
All in the name of destroying capitalism. Amen. — FC
Parquet Courts
Light Up Tools
Dull Tools
jjjj
“Style is the answer to everything. A fresh way to approach a dull or dangerous thing To do a dull thing with style is prefer- able to doing a dangerous thing without it To do a dangerous thing with style is what I call art” — Bukowski
There’s nothing dangerous about garage rock, but Parkay Quarts do it with sssssstyle. Dance party USA. Simple guitar brilliance cap- tured here. Good god, that’s fun. Brainy wordy fun punk. — FC
croon, rejoice. This album is good.
Chain and the Gang
In Cool Blood
K
jjjj
— FC
The Gospel Yea Yea sounds of The Make Up, during the late 90s were easily one of the best bands of the period by simply being exciting and sexy in a time when Radioheads and Pearl Jams were getting more introverted and crap- pier and Kurt was shooting himself in the face. (Or murdered ... have they figured that one out for sure yet?)
Since then, Ian Svenonius’ best gig has been hosting the best minds of his generation on the uber-dry Vice talk show Soft Focus. Which is funny, sort of, because his Weird War/Scene Creamer excursions always seemed a bit unfo- cused. Also, he hasn’t had me on yet, which I guess is just an oversight.
Chain and the Gang have been going for a few years now, and for a guy with NO musical talent whatsoever other than pure otherworld- ly enthusiasm and the most killer lisp since Isaac Brock spat into a microphone, his career is really rolling, and this would be the apex. Be- hind every Svenonius band, there’s a concept and Chain’s is the simplest: down with freedom, up with chains. The idea being freedom of choice has only brought us stupider transpor- tation vehicles, their marketing during Super Bowls that makes us feel deficient and, like, we should drink unhealthy soda pop. It’s hard to argue, in a certain light at least.
30 • AUGUST 2012 • the NOISE arts & news magazine • thenoise.us