a r t i s t : Volcano!
t i t l e : Paperwork
d a t e : 2008
l a b e l : Leaf
c a t : BAY63CD
s o u r c e : CDDA
g e n r e : Indie
r l s. d a t e : Jul/2008
t r a c k s : 11
b i t r a t e : VBRkbps
s i z e : 71,1 MB
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ôWhat Volcano! have achieved, in simple terms, is to create
the most forward-looking, genre-eschewing, sense-battering
album IÆve honestly ever heardö // Drowned In Sound on
Beautiful Seizure 10/10
Arriving in 2005 with an exclamatory bang, sporting an
electrifying live set and an audacious debut album in
"Beautiful Seizure" (voted #2 album of 2006 by Drowned In
Sound's readers), Volcano! cast an eye over the parameters of
rock and exponentially expanded them into hitherto unknown
regions. After a two-year hiatus, the Chicago trio now stride
onwards with a new bounce in their step, and a new cohesive
flow to their songs.
ôWe wanted to be more economical and concise than before, and
more importantly to elicit a more intuitive body reaction,ö
says Aaron With (guitar, vocals) of the songs on Paperwork.
ôWe wrote stuff that we thought would be the most fun to play,
and the most fun to listen to, still trying to maintain a
balance of melody and noise.ö
Accompanied by former high school classmate Sam Scranton
(drums, percussion), and college bandmate Mark Cartwright
(electronics, bass), the band was initially drawn together by
a shared love of musicÆs outer edges: free-jazz, electronic
music, experimental rock. Everything about the new album is
leaner and more considered than before, often beginning with
simple pop structures and tearing them apart. The ragged,
feverish dissonance and bright spaciousness of AaronÆs guitar
has much in common with peers like Deerhoof or Dirty
Projectors, with more attention placed on the beats and
rhythms this time.
ôWe made an effort to explore the crazy combinations of rhythm
that can be found in more basic time signatures,ö says
Scranton. ôBeats that you can feel and bounce to, but also
land in unexpected places.ö
Vocals, guitars and drums seethe with furious passion one
moment; a playful wink the next. volcano! frame political
issues in a highly personal context, avoiding preachiness with
a sardonic sense of humour (if youÆd like transcripts of the
albumÆs lyrics please let us know).
Lead-off single æAfrica Just Wants To Have FunÆ displays much
of this febrile energy within a razor-sharp satire of certain
rock stars who purport to save the world with dubious,
self-serving rhetoric. WithÆs response is refreshingly honest:
ôI admit it I donÆt know what to do / But I know what not to
doö.
WithÆs vocals are more deliberate, more soulful than before,
with echoes of classic Stevie Wonder surfacing on the
self-deprecating æSlow JamÆ ("I'm a guitar hero with a big ego
and a bipolar libido / But I come through in the sack, most of
the time"). æFairy TaleÆ describes WithÆs disillusionment with
his own experience of the ænon-profitÆ world, while æSweet
ToothÆ relates his sense of hypocrisy and inconsistency on the
ambiguous line between consumerism and social/environmental
responsibility.
The dense layering integral to the volcano! sound informs the
thematic undertones of the new album (particularly
æPerformance Evaluation ShuffleÆ) - workplace issues, loss of
idealism, and a coming of age story. The approach is mirrored
by the album artwork, layer upon layer of dreary policy
documents buried under scribbled drawings. ôThereÆs this idea
of layered texts and palimpsests. Taking something and writing
your own ideas over and on top of it, creating a new object.
ThatÆs sort of an idea of how to survive in the workplace û
drawing doodles on office documents and meeting agendas, and
also reinterpreting and working around the rules and regs that
dictate your behaviour û but also relates to the music; taking
fairly complex musical structures and layering them to give a
satisfyingly rich end result.ö
An exhilarating live band, Volcano! will return to Europe for
their first live shows since 2006 in the autumn. ItÆll be good
to have them back.
PRESS:
ôVolcano!Æs febrile explosions and switchbacks are a
vocabulary of their own, and Leaf have made a promising pickö
// The Wire
ôFull of unpredictable, volatile compositions that sweep
varying styles and moods together like dry leaves before
setting them ablazeàout of [Beautiful Seizure] comes a
stunning and consistently melodic middle ground that never
teases or withholds anything, always sputtering towards
catharsis without losing grip of the listener's handà
Arrestingö
Pitchfork 7.4/10
ôIts exploration of sounds seems to know no boundaries,
synthesizing disparate elements of experimental noise
tinkering, catchy pop hooks and head-scratching rhythm
changesö // Portland Tribune
ôThis trio stands almost alone in a barely tilled (left)
field. The perfect balance between precise order and apparent
chaosö // Time Out
ôVolcano!Æs innovation is so powerful, it feels
confrontational. Beautiful Seizure conveys an aura of both
impending miracle and plague, and, in its enormity, sounds
like the soundtrack to the bible: the
thorns/floods/manna-from-the-sky/brimstone type of stuff, not
the whole proselytisation businessà though the name volcano!
might ring hyperbolic, in composing music determined to uproot
and spew destruction upon all encroaching flora and fauna, the
band lives up to its moniker, exclamation mark and allö Fader
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01-Performance Evaluation Shuffle [03:26]
02-Africa Just Wants to Have Fun [06:06]
03-Tension Loop [05:18]
04-Fairy Tale [04:43]
05-Slow Jam [05:10]
06-78 Oil Crisis [07:22]
07-Sweet Tooth [06:00]
08-Astronomers Ballad [04:30]
09---------------- [00:31]
10-Palimpsests [07:18]
11-Kitchen Dance [03:35]
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53:59 min