TLOBF Loves… Parts & Labor

“Unexplosions” begins with twisted electronics playing a twisted melody at a slow pace. Then drums, thick and upfront, like “Squalour Victoria” by The National. The electronics continue but subside briefly as the vocal kicks in. A relatively lower volume to the rest of the music, the vocal still kicks you in the shins with it’s urgent, slightly warbling delivery. A guitar appears playing the distorted melody from the start of the song. Tantalizing vocal melody, then wham! Brilliant descending bass playing long thick notes with the chorus and rest of the track. You can scale mountains, you can defeat the worst in yourself, you can thrash about the room, or rather you HAVE to thrash about the room.

Parts & Labor are a 3-piece noise rock band from Brooklyn, NY, they released their fourth album, Mapmaker, earlier this year on Jagjaguwar Records. They employ two banks of electronic equipment that create high pitched squeals and distorted static, sometimes a guitar, and a manic drummer that feels he has to hit as much of his drum kit as quickly, and as hard, as he can. Vocal duties are handled between the two electronics manipulators, they seem to have similar styles so it doesn’t really matter that much. Mapmaker appears to be carrying on the tradition of their previous album by utilizing anthemic punching the sky melodies, whereas older releases were more noise based. I have to say, while I really like the album, I think the noise aspects could be toned down a touch, not taken away completely, the album works so well with the tension and contrast between melody and noise, it’s just the tracks without melody are slightly wearying after a while. Anyway, to top it off they even have a Minutemen cover! (“King Of The Hill”) on “Mapmaker”.

Along with the mp3, here is a video of a ripping live performance of the song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6GveuHRiDo

mp3:> Parts & Labor: “Unexplosions”
[From Mapmaker; Out now, Jagjaguwar Records]