|
Read More |
Uh oh. Sounds like someone has a case of the grumpies. Or so I thought, after first listen of Smallcraft, the latest EP from New York power rockers Worst Case Ontario. Not one to caress his audience with subtlety, singer Sam Weisberg opts instead for shameless (awesome) obviousness. From the opening chord on Smallcraft, listeners are treated to a wild tour of angry music history, making significant stops in “Garage Rock” City and Punksville by way of Interstate “Yelling.” If you like it fast and hard, no doubt you’ll want a ride.
As with their last album, Burning Politely, the boys of Ontario abandon the throes of glorified indieshmindie in favor of a grimier, slimier rock. They may call New York “home,” but Smallcraft is more of a “fuck you” to soy-fed audiences than a call to Pitchfork media. Weisberg remains a man of phrasing, and as such, the constant to his music is not just a need for speed, but an appreciation of the finer lyrics in life. To wit: I saved but around the bend were ten glutton meals / She brings her lunch to work; it’s backwards snubbing / Don’t see the harm in living a little / Somebody buy me and assume all debt (“I’m In Debt”).
The first few minutes of the aforementioned “I’m In Debt” recall the mid-90s, a time when many of us came of age, felt cross for no identifiable reason, and cranked the volume so high our eardrums still issue mild objections. In a way, Smallcraft is a bit of a mystery: coarse, be-flanneled loafing coupled with a distinctly contemporary coup de rock. The 6-minute “Capricorn” makes good use of the latter, lifting and rolling as Weisberg spins astrological woe: “…I don’t bond with, don’t click with, wouldn’t be caught dead with another Capricorn” (I think we’ve all felt similarly about nature’s terrestrial goat).
For more information on the band and their forthcoming EP, visit Myspace / Facebook. You can purchase WCO’s 2007 release Burning Politely from CD Baby or digitally from iTunes.
08/29/2010 09:38:45 ♥ lara (
) ♥ myspace.com/wcoband ♥ facebook.com/pages/Worst-Case-Ontario
