Parts & Labor | Constant Future

Jagjaguwar (2011)
By REYAN ALI  |  March 31, 2011
3.5 3.5 Stars

Parts main

Everybody forgets just how good Bear vs. Shark were. After the band split in 2005, their furious inventiveness and impeccable grasp of topsy-turvy songwriting somehow evaporated into the cultural mists. Although Brooklyn's Parts & Labor formed a few years before BvS's break-up, Constant Future espouses those same spirited traits. This is an exquisite thing, rocketing toward Heaven via digital-wildflower keyboard riffs, turbulent guitars, and commanding percussion. (The drums have a crispness that adds an extra layer of youthfulness to a record that already sounds like the coolest adolescence ever.) It can be tricky to pin down Parts & Labor's busy sound — it's noise pop that's not too noisy, or maybe post-punk that's cool with cracking a fat grin — but it almost always has something entertaining going on. "Skin and Bones" is Constant Future at its best: a spacy intro, an endearing hook, a minimalist, vocals-heavy bridge to build tension, and a climax that explodes into a mega-sized celebration. The flurry of fireworks would have been satisfying enough; all that bright-eyed jubilance makes for a charming bonus.

Related: Crystal Stilts | In Love With Oblivion, Times New Viking | Dancer Equired, Shinji Masuko | Woven Music, More more >
  Topics: CD Reviews , Music, Jagjaguwar, New Music,  More more >
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