The Static Vs The Strings Vol. 1

Centro-matic, Centro-Matic | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 26, 2002)
• Original Release Date: February 26, 2002
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: IDOL RECORDS
• ASIN: B000063K7W
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #65,492 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Zac Crain

Dallas Observer August 1999 The Static vs. The Strings Vol. I Quality Park Records In the hands of any other band, an album like The Static vs. The Strings would merely be something to fill the gap between real records, a way to buy a little more time until the group could come up with enough songs for a new album. The disc is more or less a stopgap -- Centro-matic's follow-up to this year's Navigational is due in January -- yet it's almost impossible to think of these songs as leftovers. The Static vs. The Strings is less a collection of scraps than it is a way to keep up with Will Johnson's frenetic output, the mountain of songs that have piled up since he first sat down with a four-track recorder a few years ago. And even though The Static is intended to be the first in a series, Quality Park would almost have to release a disc every month just to stand a fighting chance. It may have taken Johnson a while to write his first song, but he's no slouch when it comes to making up for lost time.

Johnson has always been able to balance quantity with quality. He doesn't just write a lot of songs; he writes a lot of great ones, songs that take maddeningly simple melodies and make them sound so beautifully complex. Johnson's and violinist-piano player Scott Danbom's voices wrap around each other like lovers, stretching out their harmonies on "The Execution of Sixty-Odd Drummers" until they almost break. But the only thing that's really in danger of breaking is someone's heart; Johnson can sing sad songs, such as the acoustic "You Might Need This Now," better than anyone this side of Jeff Tweedy.

The fact that just three of the album's 14 tracks have turned up on previous Centro-matic releases ("Calling Up the Bastards" and "Turning Your Decisions" appeared in different versions on 1997's Tympanum EP; "Say Something/95 Frowns" showed up on last year's self-released Line Connection Aim cassette) only serves to underscore how marvelous each one of the band's records is. And this one is no exception. "D-Boon Free (Ninth Grade Crime)" is one of the band's best efforts yet, all cooing backups and handclaps, with just enough keyboards to make a difference. "Neighbors, Habits, Downtown" is even better, Johnson's wobbly guitar balancing on top of drummer Matt Pence and bassist Mark Hedman's rickety rhythm. The song doesn't just threaten to fall apart; it does. But you've never seen such a gorgeous mess.

Product Description

Centro-Matic's aptly named The Static Vs. the Strings, Vol. 1 collects rarities, outtakes, and B-sides dating back to 1996, contrasting their chugging, fuzzed-out power pop with melancholy, countrified ballads. What holds their divergent tendencies together is the group's somewhat shambling but confident approach and the appealingly scruffy production, which balances their muscular sound with their skillful melodies and harmonies. At their revved-up best, Centro-Matic is downright infectious and slightly quirky, particularly on songs like the sprightly "Neighbors. Habits. Downtown," the driving "D. Boon-Free (A Ninth-Grade Crime)," and especially on The Static Vs. the Strings, Vol. 1's centerpiece, "Turning Your Decisions," which features lyrical gems like "You're dreaming up plans in the Aerostar van." The group's ballads, like "Recaptured the Silent Way," "Say Something/95 Frowns" and "You Might Need This Now/Most Peaceful Yeough" recast the group's sleepy, raspy vocals as poignant instead of wry and belie their Texas roots. Best of all, the album's jubilant closer "Keep the Phoenix in Slow Motion" has the best use of whistling and honky-tonky piano in an indie-rock song in a long, long time, making The Static Vs. the Strings, Vol. 1 almost as much fun to listen to as it must have been to make. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars That Old Raw Intensity, October 25, 2009

By 

Jordan T. Lawrence (Dallas, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Static Vs The Strings Vol. 1 (Audio CD)

My first Centro-Matic album, even if it's not a proper album. The tracks cover the time from when Will Johnson first started recording up to what was recorded for Navigational. But this isn't some b-sides collection. It plays like a proper LP, has the feel of one, and pummels the senses just like Redo The Stacks does. If you like anything Centro-Matic produced prior to Distance and Clime then definitely grab this not-an-album album.

5.0 out of 5 stars Wowsers!, February 20, 2000

By 

P. B. Hendrickson "peggyblah" (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

I've been a centro fan for more than five years, and somehow, amazingly, they just get better and better. This album brings tears to my eyes, my heart swells, and I want to run home and write songs. Since I can't, I just have to hope that these four guys won't ever quit ripping my soul out with their particular brand of incredible pop-country-rock. While their website describes this album as "leftovers," I can say that only a band as prolific as this could consider these gems the leftovers. The rockin' "Calling up the Bastards" opens the album but only hints at the excitement of "Curb Your Turbulence (Rock Show is Coming)." "Wrecking this show" makes me want to weep while the sheer agony of "Say Something/95 Frowns" and "The Execution of Some Sixty-Odd Drummers" rips my heart up and stomps on it. Of course, these heart-breakers are equally balanced by the other rockers, "Keep the Phoenix in Slow Motion," "D. Boon-Free," and "Neighbors. Habits. Downtown." While this isn't centro-matic's best album (it is the leftovers after all), it's still better than almost anything else around. Ever.

5.0 out of 5 stars Best New Music in 99, December 26, 1999

By 

Mike Pee (Spokane Washington) - See all my reviews

Centro-Matic is best discovery I made this year... since it's almost 2000 I can say this as a fact.

Take a listen to them at MP3.COM

Have a good dinner!