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Autolux
Future Perfect
(DMZ
/ Columbia)
Music like this hasn’t existed for a good ten years. Surely
you remember Sonic Youth? I mean, they still exist, but back
when what they were doing was consistently exciting. I feel
the same blue electric crackle in Autolux. They play the sort
of alternative noise rock that we thought died a horrible death
in the late 90s. But apparently some has survived. This band
has been compared a lot to Sonic Youth and a bit to shoegazer
outfits like Ride or My Bloody Valentine. They seem different,
though, because their music actually feels like it’s new,
instead of a blatant rehashing of the same noise rock that has
been stolen from these bands for over a decade now.
“Turnstile Blues” properly ushers in the album,
with Azar’s herky-jerky drumbeats shooting out like a
flare, signaling the off-kilter track the band intends to take.
There is an insane quality to this music; that is to say, literally
suffering from some psychosis. The band seems to be clinging
to sanity with a rather loose grip, and they don’t really
care if they fall or not. “I black out, ain’t no
big deal” intones Eugene Goreshter in an unsettling, calm
voice on “Blanket.” Then Carla Azar starts shouting
“woohoo” over him like a demented pixie, come to
show us what is really happening in Never Never Land.
Speaking of Azar, I am willing to risk sounding sexist to say
that she is the most forceful female drummer I have ever heard.
She doesn’t pummel the kit with abandon like a certain
faux-garage rocker turned bad-actress I shan’t name, but
instead uses it like a precision artillery weapon. Each blow
is measured, calculated, but human. Really, Azar is so talented
that the fact that she is female shouldn’t enter into
it. Many other great bands have women to thank for their percussion
(The Decemberists, Blanche, and the White Stripes), but Azar’s
skills differ so much from other female drummers I’ve
heard that the point begged to be made.
Serving as a testament to this Autolux’s originality and
credibility, DMZ Records signed them as their first band. The
label, headed by the Coen Brothers and T-Bone Burnett, has so
far only been home to rootsy music such as the O’
Brother, Where Art Thou soundtrack. The label was right
to go out on a limb in signing this band. Already sounding this
good, Autolux inspires bright hopes for music that (finally)
sounds new.
Reviewed
Cody Shaffer
January 12th, 2005 |
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