3 out of 5

Label: Communion

Producer: Gibbs Chapman

I dunno where this band came from or where they went, but they’re definitely part of whatever wacky tribe Thinking Fellers came from, sharing producer Gibbs Chapman and featuring scene weirdos like Seymour Glass…  But I have no idea what their m.o. was.  They liked to dress like vikings?  Which sort of comes across in the music, which is noodly and chanty style lyrics, but grumbled out in an odd U.S. Maple style hasp…  They’re at home on the Communion label, but equally fitting to VHF, where they have an album as well, and would’ve worked fine on a no-wave label like Skin Graft.  What this means, though, as it does for a lot of TFUL 282 stuff, is that an album of this type of material has trouble identifying itself.  The rolling drums and sort of plodding guitar and bass work create an interesting beat, at first, and there is variance from song to song, but it’s all sort of stuffed through a muted presentation, so it’s hard to get a grip on things.  Still, the sound is unique to The Double U, and there’s a particular mood I’ll get in where I need the distraction of noise, but can’t quite commit to psychedelia or skronk, at which point this band becomes a pretty nifty-lookin’ option.