Here's the recently-released third album from Chicago's Disappears. I remember seeing them for free at Millenium Park a few summers ago; back then they were riding one-chord guitar noise waves punctuated by tight motorik rhythms in a garage sort of style (
here's a Chicago Reader article about them from the time). I really liked that whole schtick, and their first two albums,
Lux and
Guider, nailed down the aesthetic without making the consciously limited style become stale. Since the recording of those two, they've added Sonic Youth's Steve Shelley to their drumkit, and he has definitely helped develop Disappears' sound further.
Pre Language is quite a bit different from what came before, most obviously in the rhythm section. Mr. Shelley and bassist Damon Carruesco carve out their grooves in more subtle and diverse ways than the band did on previous records. The Johnathan Richman-telling-you-what's-up vocals haven't changed much, but no need to fix what ain't broke. The guitars are still noisily psyched-out with plenty of reverb, but the idea this time seems a little closer to Wire than Neu!. I guess that's the biggest difference I could notice on this record; some of the krauty garage scooched over to make room for post-punk.
The songwriting and production are what will get you into this. The intent behind the songs remains rooted in the idea of not getting too fancy -- nobody could ever accuse Disappears of noodling. Instead, they churn out some masterfully-crafted psych-punk jams. And they sound better than ever, thanks to recording in Sonic Youth's personal studio.
I could tell you about the indivdual songs but you should really just get them into your ear without my words diluting the experience. Here's the first song:
Disappears website/tour info
Buy Pre Language on Kranky Records [came out this week, so don't be stingy yo]
Is it real or replicate
