1 out of 5

Label: Yawn

Producer: Jim Marrer

It’s not that this is actually that bad of an album, it’s just completely undefined.  More than once per listen – more than twice per listen – I looked to see if the record had started over, or if I had stumbled into demos or re-takes of earlier tracks or something.  But no, it’s just that EKT really (at least on this album) only has a couple of modes of chord progression and pacing, and though there’s every indication that this thump and shout should be enough to see you through a record, it just doesn’t stick out in any particular way, making 11 tracks that would probably be notable on a compilation sound incredibly undefined when strung together.  It’s a rather strange experience, and shared across speakers or headphones.  When I popped the album on, I bobbed my head and started looking to see what else the band had recorded, because the stripped down guitar bass drum with the pounding low-end that sounds mic’ed like you’re right at the front of the stage – a notable Albini hallmark, take note – it’s just a good clean rock noise that brings to mind those bands from Chicago you dig.  Like Shellac.  Now not that you have to be from Chicago to cop that sound, or be recorded by Bob Weston or anything, but EKT is from Alabama, and though they shared the stage with some Touch n’ Goers, once your head stops bobbing because the tempo or vibe never changes, this cloud sorta hovers over the recording… where it sounds like something.  It doesn’t remind you of another band – it sounds like another band.  And honestly, I think Ed Kemper comes by it honestly, I don’t think they sat down and said “let’s make a record from the post-punk 90s Chicago scene,” but it happened, and it’s every friend’s band you’ve seen who sound great on stage but just fizzle on album because live music has sweat and pumping fists and recorded music just has the songs, baby.

Now again, it ain’t horrible, and it won’t stop me from wanting to hear more, because when the group gets down to some instrumental tracks, things sharpen up a bit to where you can believe the future might hold some more definition for the band, but it took several spins to accept that ‘Sword Fight’ is just completely faceless – nothing emerges that sounds fresh, and so by track 3 you already feel like you’ve heard this before…  Something something joke about being on Yawn records (chortle)