the western front – the balkanization of epistemology
October 1st, 2009 | by jason grishkoff | published in alternative, experimental, indie pop, indie rock
sounds like: apollo sunshine, starfucker, oh no oh my
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
What’s so good?
here we go! another one of those albums where upon hitting play, you instantly realize it’s something worthwhile. i should be careful, though: this isn’t an album. it’s an ep. and that’s bloody annoying, because i want to hear more. the production is great and the originality overwhelms. the only problem is that i can’t seem to pinpoint their sound–comparisons are evading me. you’re just going to have to listen, which is why i’ve included two songs above.
the western front is strong, energetic, and out of iowa. it took them plenty of black label to work through the balkanization of epistemology, but for four tracks supposedly recorded in a caravan, this is is brilliant. they’ve put their album up free for download, and you can find it at the bottom of this post.
The four-song-EP breaks down into two sort of mini-suites. The two opening tracks (the title cut and “What Kind of Man has Tears in His Beard?”) are fused together by a sample of social theorist Terrance McKenna (who’s theories provided the title for this collection). But they also share a similar sythy buzzing and ape the sort of upbeat academic savant-isms of artists like Beck.
The second set features the two longer cuts (”Rabbit Dog” and “Greenville”) which stomp around a bit on fist-pumping choruses and bridges. Even though the whole album is a bit blippy and bloppy, the third and fourth tracks slow down to more conventional rock beats. Look for shouting and and calls for connection with your surroundings. These are more empowering where the two openers feel a bit more introverted – missionfreak.com
elsewhere on the web:
myspace | myspace.com/thewesternfront
download:
you can get the full ep for free here
or, download the two tracks above here:
the balkanization of epistemology.mp3
what kind of man has tears in his beard.mp3
