So Said They have finally released their EP! It’s an intense 6 song release that gives the listener a teaser of their No-Wave/No-Bullspittle live act. Dissonance and distortion dominate the instrumentation, while the vocals are yelled, howled, crooned, mumbled and vibrated in a sea of trap set acrobatics.
“All The Rage” starts the disc out on a mid-tempo raucous. Singer Iris Montes’ voice has been compared to Sleater-Kinney’s Corin Tucker, but ya know what? I think she’s more like a female Ian Curtis. But maybe this is because I heard So Said They for the first time at one of their live gigs, where Montes moaned in a way not too different from our favorite Manchester epileptic.
On the track “The Final Chapter” Keith Whiteman’s rhythm guitar sounds like a bass jumping between hypnotism and hyperactivity. The lead guitar stabs its serrated edge between the bobbing of the rhythm guitar and kick drum, creating an almost stroke-inducing symptom when heard on headphones. And let me add that Aaron Hoff sounds like he’s pummeling those drums like a caffeinated baboon, knocking out amphetamine rhythms with primative power.
“Tuesday at Al’s” has all the Albini ire with moments of Thurston Moore monotone in Whiteman’s voice (ah, remember when Sonic Youth put out good albums?). Phrases like “You can’t make me take the medicine when I’m outside” or “He said he takes care of an old lady” screamed out all big-n-black, are drilled into your ears while a surly guitar line drunkenly swaggers and plops down on a barstool next to a twisted keyboard part. In other words, the MUSIC even sounds like a Tuesday night at some dive bar. You know, a place where hacked-off, elderly barflies shout shit at each other causing the hipsters in the joint to scamper towards the exit door? I love those kind of places!
“City of Sleep” is the first song off their EP that caught my attention. Even though this is mostly instrumental, you can hear an incredibly beautiful, distant vocal track that’ll make you boo-hoo-hoo. It’s that purrrrty. It’s like a ghost shouting in a cellar, but the shrieks are muffled by a big oak door. You have to actively filter out the sheets of guitar noise just to hear those fragile, far-away cries.
So Said They’s live performance is stronger than this EP, but that’s not a bad thing now is it? Their sound from the amplified stage is abrasive and raw, and that’s why I like them. Also, they pull off a great cover of Helium’s “Pat’s Trick.” What more could you want? If you hear So Said They in a club, their music will convince you to go out and buy their album.
Their debut EP is available on their website www.sosaidthey.com or at their gigs.
Title: EP
Label: Self-Released
