(you should know about..) +/- (plus/minus)
+/- (plus/minus) - Let's Start A Fire
i am fried. i am gone to the world, sick of words, sick of composing and typing and thinking and breathing. lucky for you all, i am not yet sick of whining - no no, not yet. but just as lucky, i am passionate in my promises, and i promised you postage, so posts, push on. pfft. comma comma.

in the spirit of whatever, i bring you plus/minus, known to everyone but google and amazon as +/-. over the last few weeks, their latest album Let's Start A Fire has been getting some of the most play-time on my ipiddd and by far the most repeat-cycles in the last few days. the story with this "new" album is that it's actually not new at all. like a lot of really good albums this year (SSLY Boris Yeltsin, What Made Milwaukee Famous), this release was just recently picked up by a slightly bigger label, Absolutely Kosher, and was re-released October 24th. admittedly, i hadn't heard it before now, though i had heard some of their much earlier stuff (explain that one). well, actually, i can explain. the old +/- reminded me a little too much of Air - that floaty, dreamy, trippy electronica that waivers in and out of ambience and pop and makes my eyelids droopy. they were good, i gave them that, but they didn't stand on their own, even with the band name (which has always fit snugly at the very top of my itunes, right under a bit of !!! and more recently ¡Forward Russia!). so i missed out on this release. and let me reiterate: i missed out.

ah, the wonders of electronic noise pop! they're at their best when they channel Psapp, ever so slightly, and make it their own. they pick the electric like Minus The Bear and sometimes drag the vocals like Thom Yorke, but both work so well, and even together. tracks like "Steal The Blueprints," possibly their single, make me roll my eyes and say - hey guys, if i had wanted to listen to Death Cab, i would have put on We Have The Facts. but even those times they win me over in no time, my head bopping and foot tapping (such a happy combination). tracks like "Profession" show a certain depth (even if he's going for Radiohead) that is both impressive and addicting. this is probably my favorite song on the whole album. there are moments that stick in my head, make my spine tingle and leave me raw for more. powerful? yes. exaggerated? always. but only slightly. the entire album gets my approval, certainly; if i've had it on replay, it means every song is redeeming, if not effing awesome.

::::check out my super-approved picks for yourself:
+/- (plus/minus) - Profession (hiiiighly recommended)
+/- (plus/minus) - Summer Dress 2 (Iodine) (lovely little pop number)

let me remind you that this whole album is highly recommended. picking tracks was difficult because every song is so different. this same versatility is one of the most attractive things about the band, though; if they try something you don't like, surely they're onto something else in just a few minutes.

go hype!
"Steal The Blueprints" is available for download on their myspace. don't be a user-loser, say hello while you're there.
buyyyyy and be so happy that you did.  shan  6:55 AM  |  view comments (0)