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Jul 5, 2012

Black Bananas - Rad Time Xpress IV (2012)


Album cover of the year. No doubt. Jennifer Herrema's (Royal Trux) new "non-exclusive opposition rock" project (need to remember that, couldn't describe Royal Trux's appeal better myself!). Taking their/her ideologies and pushing them further by encompassing more styles than ever before to achieve total highbrow kitsch, or smartass kitsch, or subversive rock that rocks, or, fuck it, "non-exclusive opposition rock." As big, dumb, colourful, and funny as the cover- tacky vocal manipulations, Eddie Hazel guitars, early 2000s distorted synths, fuzzy riffs, funk basslines: "all the shit you don't like, woven into all the shit you can't live without." Essentially glam: block it out for a minute and come back and there's no denying things sound like Electric Warrior by way of Funkadelic performed by some dance-punk. There are good moments where they reach the same levels of camp as their sources, and brilliant ones where they go "camp" instead a la Ween. Me, I like the shit they bring in and admire the project of an all-inclusive rock band, but could go without ever listening to this again. Sounds mean, but it's not meant to be. I get what they're going for and think it's rad. I admire it. I wish I liked it. But I don't. There's no denying how good it is- if I were a critic I'd have to give it an A or an A minus. But I'm not a critic, and so I'm standing by the could go without ever listening to this again conclusion.

C+

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