Customer Reviews

At Crystal Palace

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It's about time bands start getting some influence from no-wave. Now that new-wave is making a bit of a comeback with the whole 80's revival of the past few years, it's about time no-wave reared its deformed head. In actuality Erase Errata are far more approachable than many of these early no-wavers, but don't hold that against them, they'll still try and punish you with their sounds. Piercing guitar notes over swirling bass and drums, these girls make you work to get their music. You can tell that these four girls from San Francisco have musical chemistry, and while at first listen you might think they learned to play five minutes ago, upon repeat listen you realize how damn catchy all the songs really are. Add a trumpet that sounds like something from an Angelo Badalamenti score and you've got one hell of a band. Erase Errata claim they wrote ten songs the first half an hour they were together, and you can tell a definite difference between their improvised songs and those more structured, but don't worry, I doubt you'll find dead heads listening Erase Errata jam out anytime soon; I bet Jerry Garcia would have had to smoke at least a pound of weed before he got into this. However, on this album it's apparent that there's less improvisation than on their last album, Other Animals. Besides, the often sparse arrangements make it absolutely certain that these chicks carry a punk aesthetic through and through.

Their debut album from a couple years ago may one day be considered a classic and this album isn't too bad from what I am hearing. I have listened the whole way through 4-5 times and it is a very cohesive record that flows well throughout with the occassional failure, but that was really basically the same with the last record. The one difference with this record and the first is that the first record had some really great high points while this one doesn't achieve those highs quite as often. It's still one of my favorites from this year, but I wouldn't say it is better than the Drive By Truckers record, Beulah record, or Broken Social Scene record. If you liked the first album then definitely buy this one, but if you are new to this band and are looking to buy their best album go with their first.

This is okay, pretty good. I'd go so far as to say it's not bad. But for christ sakes music listeners, go back to the source and listen to the Scissor Girls! Start with "We People Space With Phantoms" and work your way through their other mazes. THEN come back and listen to this. Having said that, I should also say that I think Erase Errata is a very good band and you should try to see them live -- how about that drummer, eh? Still, they're no Scissor Girls.