Sonic Circuits DC 2005 and Clavius Productions present:
Tuesday, October 25
DC9,
http://www.dcnine.com 1940 9th St NW WDC
$8, 21+, doors at 9
The Planet The (5RC, mathy spazz punk from Portland)
USAISAMONSTER (Load Records, prog/psych/noise duo from NYC)
Kites (Load Records, solo noise maverick from Providence)
Facemat (DC improv noise)
The Planet The http://www.theplanetthe.net Punk, prog and new wave is what The Planet The do. Vocals entirely drowned in effects, slicing guitar, danceable beats, and spacey keyboards come careening straight for your ears and don't let up until you collapse from dancing in 9/8 time.
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You Absorb My Vision has all the trappings of classic geek rock: science fiction imagery, misanthropy, cynical social commentary, Ritalin-induced spasms and, above all, a dire attempt to understand what all the sciences can't explain -- the attractive woman. So yeah, Portland, Oregon's The Planet The are essentially Devo disciples, but their music is as carnal as it is calculated. Sounds like Brainiac, you say? Well, yeah, but The Planet The are more aptly framed rather than pigeonholed, falling squarely in the middle of the Devo-Brainiac spectrum.
Unlike those other bands, TPT have a handful of infectious indie pop melodies, albeit ones mucked up by sputtering time signatures, clamorous sound effects, and squawking vocals. The Planet The seem more prone to backbreaking frenzy than pristine new wave pop -- they're more Hella than "Hella Good". Song structures seldom derail completely, but rather jar loose from the track before pulling everything together for an anthemic chorus hook. "Wet Dust" begins relatively clean cut with man and synthesizer in bubbly unison before the song spontaneously devolves into pathological moaning and dizzying chromatic guitar riffs. To the rescue comes the a massive refrain -- synths blaring, vocals straining, and drums raising Cain.
This unstable formula pays dividends on standout track "Please Don't Kill Myself", combining rickety Pere Ubu time signatures with morbid paranoia á la the Unicorns. The track single-handedly propels The Planet The beyond new wave quacks like Numbers and Dynasty, bands that still struggle to affix feasible vocals to their fractured, over-baked instrumentation. Similarly, "Please Don't Kill Myself" does lose momentum on its protracted bridge, but the catchy staccato verse synth reemerges from the rubble and lulls the listener back into lo-fi pop euphoria.
Unfortunately,
You Absorb My Vision wears off its already porous pop coating by the album's final third. Back-to-back numbers "Free Jewelry" and "Tighten Your Dreams" hiss and snarl like morose Cex tirades, justifying reviewers' shackling of The Planet The to many unseasoned Tigerbeat6 rock acts. Still, even weaker late tracks "Tennis" and "Envision My Zorb" sport some nifty musical ideas, albeit less polished and fully integrated ones. They may be poking around in niches already claimed by previous bands, but these new wave dweebs got the smarts to pull it off without provoking wedgies, swirlies and/or petty lunch money theft from bullying traditionalists." (Adam Moerder, Pitchfork)
USAISAMONSTER http://www.usaisamonster.com USAISAMONSTER started as an epiphany in 2000, taking inspiration from various leftist organizations, zines, and hardcore punk. The name represents an awakening and realization to the truth and history of world power struggle and manipulation, murder, and lies. Colin Matthews and Tom Hohmann met through an ad in a record store while living in Boston in January 1996. We did this band for 4 years called Bull-Roarer who rocked as hard as we could and paid for our own records and did some DIY touring and meant the world to us. Bass player J.K. moved to Mexico. Col and Tom decide to keep on rocking and moved to Charlottesville, VA. Founded a rad show space called the Pudhouse that was about as rad as every other wild DIY freak out fun show venue. Did a bunch of one night only bands with Hot Tang. Got Jero Harris down there, jammed, got 3 of his buddies (Vlad, Chris, and A.T.) down there, jammed, made a CDR entitled "1", then did a week long southern hardcore tour as a 7-piece noise symphony rock chaos outfit. The most newsworthy thing that happened on that tour was we played at 2 a.m. in a convenience store in Greensboro, and that show was covered signifigantly in many zines revolving around the Crimethinc organization. Returning home, we became a 4-piece with Jero and A.T. Spent summer 2001 swimming and making 3 releases: "Trippy Yet Wholesome" CDR, "Weed Blood" CDR, and "Soul Jerker" 7-inch. Each release showcased different styles. "Trippy" is folk rock, "Weedblood" is stoner metal, and the 7-inch is art-punk. The 4-piece did a week long tour up north predecided of breaking up as soon as the tour was over. After tour Tom breaks his arm, switches to bass, Colin switches to drums, Hot Tang joins the band again on Farfisa and screaming. A CDR is made entitled "5". Just a few shows are played in this lineup. Somewhere in there we also did a CDR and 10-day tour called Elvish Presley with A.T., Jonah Rapino, and Jarrod Hood and recorded a split 7? that never came out, the mystery 6th usaisamonster recording. Tom gets his cast off and the current 2-piece (Tom on drums, Colin on guitar) is formed. Songs are written quickly, a CDR is made entitled "7", and a 3-month tour is booked. Boys move outta C-Ville summer 2001. Turn vagabond. Drive around USA, rock and sightsee. Have tons of days off, play tons of shows, touring for a spell with facedowninshit. Settle in Tucson with the express intention of immediately getting jobs, booking the tour, DIY rerecording CDR "7" to become an LP, writing the next record, and leaving in 3 months. On Christmas day 2001 our beloved friends Tim and Sam offer to found a label and put out our LP. "Citizens of the Universe" is released on Infrasound Records. 4 month tour begins in January 2002. Shows proceed through USA and Europe, with even a show in Hermosilla, Mexico. Europe tour is a completely uninvited event. We just set our minds to it, and folks were wicked helpful. Friends gave contacts and friends of friends, and we made friends. Borrowed all equipment every show and took the train, bus, and hitchhiked. Went to Slovenia, England, Poland, and tons more. Returned home, recorded "Masonic Chronic", took a break, moved to different towns. Tom writes Black Elf Speaks in NYC. Colin moves back to Virginia, releases split 7-inch with Lazy Magnet. Black Elf Speaks one month every night USA tour happens in October 2002 featuring same elf band members except Chiara Giovando replaces Jonah. "Black Elf Speaks" CD is released on Bulb Records. "Masonic Chronic" is released on Infrasound. USAISAMONSTER gets back together in Portland, Oregon in January 2003, practices all day every day for 3 months, books the tour and records Joshua Tree demo CDR with Kamilsky in Joshua Tree, plays 7 weeks of shows in the USA, again touring with facedowninshit. Then the dudes move to NYC. Then Load Records agrees to put out an album. USA is a monster goes to KeyClub studios in Michigan to record "Tashyena Compost." Record comes out, big month-long tour with Lightning Bolt in October 2003. 10-week USA, UK, Canada spring 2004 touring with Koonda Holaa, Corndawg, Vialka, and Burning Hull.
"...That??s why filing USAISAMONSTER under Load Records?? "noise rock" umbrella just doesn??t work. The duo essentially rumble and quirk their way through 10 brick-heavy prog-rock songs, saluting punk, pop, and even wailing hair metal on the way. The diversity suggests a careful commentary on American crassness and cultural bleakness more than any brand of inter-band confusion -?? there??s no gratuitous speaker-frying sludge here (not that there??s anything wrong with that). Like the most adventurous progressive bands, distinction and clarity merely build a frame for the actual substance, and, thankfully, the albums shining production projects each simmering note loud and clear, with Hohmann??s deep snare splattering huge throughout the mix. When it comes to year-end recognition,
Tasheyana Compost stands above most." (Dusted)
Kites http://www.loadrecords.com/bands/kites.html One-man electrical system operator Kites continues his man-and-machine battle for your mind. A blend of painful, electronic feedback nerve bake, quirky, simplistic songwriting, tinkling soundscapes, and atmospheric roars. Violent, sweet, unpleasant, and nice.
Facemat "Fed Windham Hill??like timbres into a wood-chipper..." (Mark Jenkins)
