Sunday, October 14, 2007

Parts & Labor, Nice N Sleazy, Glasgow, Saturday 6th October 2007

Parts & Labor's drums, bass and keyboard line-up may not seem like a recipe for rock enlightenment, but the New York trio create a noise that belies their humble stature and nerdish appearance. With amps turned steadfastly to 11 and everything pushed deep into the red, theirs is a gloriously fuzzed-up and feedback-drenched sound, shuddering on the edge of melodic collapse. Their strength lies in the marrying of this raucous noise with a wonderful ear for anthemic, danceable tunes and infectious pop hooks, pushed to near breaking point by the walls of distortion. Anchored by the rock solid drumming of new recruit Joe Wong and the distorted bass of BJ Warshaw, overlayed with Dan Friel's melodic keyboard and guitar lines, they strike a near perfect balance between chaotic frenzy and pop nirvana. For those who always wished that Lightning Bolt were less intimidating and more catchy, Parts & Labor could well be the answer to your prayers.

Parts & Labor

2 comments:

Ryno said...

Parts & Labor sound interesting. I downloaded their latest album and will give it a spin sometime this week. Glad to see the reviews back!

krakow said...

I was actually not particularly taken with "Mapmaker" at all. I heard it a few times when it came out and it didn't do anything for me. I was quite surprised with how great they were live; there was a huge amount of energy and it was a lot more interesting than I found the album. I'd be interested to hear their records again in light of seeing them live though, and am similarly interested to see what you make of the album. Let me know.