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12/10/10 BNLX / Farewell Continental / Red Pens / Voytek at 7th Street Entry
($6)
Discography
BNLX, having listened to their EP, is a bit more aggressive and noisy and a bit more electro-art than I had expected. I believe it's Ed and Ashley Ackerson, the couple is also in The Mood Swings (but that band is more pop-friendly)...
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What do Prince, Rihanna, Black Flag and Can have in common? Nothing.
Fortunately no one bothered telling that to BNLX, whose new album,
“EP#4” is celebrated with a release party at Minneapolis’ 7th Street
Entry Friday. This represents their fourth mini-album in less than a
year for BNLX – made up of married couple Ed and Ashley Ackerson
(referred only as e.a and a.a. in liner notes) – ensuring that the
conversation never stops about their playfully stoic black-leather
clad drum-machined stage exhibition.
As with their previous three EPs, this offering consists of four tracks, totaling around 12 minutes. This time around, however, each track is a cover. How these particular covers were chosen isn’t clear. A dart board may have been involved. Opening with Prince’s “When Doves Cry” is decidedly an uncontroversial choice for a Minneapolis band. Far from a standard homage, however, this version sounds more like something from a cartoon graveyard. I picture Ed Ackerson skulking around dressed as a caricatured vampire while he half-sings/half-narrates the verses: There’s even a damn theremin in use! If not for the lyrics, this version would be utterly unrecognizable from the original. I’m also reminded that I've always found something comforting and wholesome about Ashley Ackerson’s voice, even when she’s trying to sound tough (“Two-Fold!”), her level of emotional emphasis is akin to the tone of voice mom used when shouting at you for the third time to turn off the video game and come to dinner. She might be a little ticked, but she still loves you.
The EP only gets more interesting from there. The second track, “Shut up and Drive” is a cover of a Rihanna song which itself lifted the classic riff from New Order’s Blue Monday. The New Order cred gives you permission to enjoy it– absurd Rihanna lyrics notwithstanding (How, Does It, Feel… to make vehicular sexual innuendo?)
The final two tracks are a reasonably reverent version of Black Flag’s “Rise Above” and a cover of 70’s German experimental rock band Can’s “Soul Desert.” I’m not going to pretend to be familiar with the latter, but I do enjoy BNLX’s version. Again a bit spooky; near whispered lyrics with the ever-present drum-machine beat which pervades their highly satisfying live shows and only ostensibly changes time between songs. Just the way it should be.
BNLX release “EP#4” Friday December 10th at 7th Street Entry with Farewell Continental, Voytek and Red Pens.
As with their previous three EPs, this offering consists of four tracks, totaling around 12 minutes. This time around, however, each track is a cover. How these particular covers were chosen isn’t clear. A dart board may have been involved. Opening with Prince’s “When Doves Cry” is decidedly an uncontroversial choice for a Minneapolis band. Far from a standard homage, however, this version sounds more like something from a cartoon graveyard. I picture Ed Ackerson skulking around dressed as a caricatured vampire while he half-sings/half-narrates the verses: There’s even a damn theremin in use! If not for the lyrics, this version would be utterly unrecognizable from the original. I’m also reminded that I've always found something comforting and wholesome about Ashley Ackerson’s voice, even when she’s trying to sound tough (“Two-Fold!”), her level of emotional emphasis is akin to the tone of voice mom used when shouting at you for the third time to turn off the video game and come to dinner. She might be a little ticked, but she still loves you.
The EP only gets more interesting from there. The second track, “Shut up and Drive” is a cover of a Rihanna song which itself lifted the classic riff from New Order’s Blue Monday. The New Order cred gives you permission to enjoy it– absurd Rihanna lyrics notwithstanding (How, Does It, Feel… to make vehicular sexual innuendo?)
The final two tracks are a reasonably reverent version of Black Flag’s “Rise Above” and a cover of 70’s German experimental rock band Can’s “Soul Desert.” I’m not going to pretend to be familiar with the latter, but I do enjoy BNLX’s version. Again a bit spooky; near whispered lyrics with the ever-present drum-machine beat which pervades their highly satisfying live shows and only ostensibly changes time between songs. Just the way it should be.
BNLX release “EP#4” Friday December 10th at 7th Street Entry with Farewell Continental, Voytek and Red Pens.
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