Published on Aug 22, 2003
I could tell within a few seconds that, yes, checking the CD
insert, Steve Albini, the producer of Nirvana’s final full-length
album, had lent his signature sound to this Philadelphia
four-piece. They’re in for it now, and you can hear “it” in the
dehydration of the drums, and actually in the room itself whenever
the instruments paused a moment to let their own everything
reverberate and fade. It’s a good job Dysrythmia is an instrumental
group, since any vocalist would be flummoxed to find a spot to
anywhere drop a verse that’s free from overindulgence and testicle
sweat.
I waited for more than three minutes for at least a “Yeah!” to
tell me that “Bastard” was a stretched-out intro. That opening
track was similar to a rock orchestra warming up, but, like most
attempts at making rock palatable to jazz-heads,
pretest never went anywhere. This was ultimately an
expen$ive rehearsal tape, and that’s my problem with Albini —
everything he does is so stripped-down and bare that the songs lack
momentum. Imagine a Jeep stuck in the mud with this on the
stereo.
Look, just because a band noodles about for nearly an hour
doesn’t mean that they’re “jazzy.” I saw that term mentioned a few
times in Dysrhythmia’s press kit, and it’s offensive to anyone who
plays or has ever played jazz music. While jazz is often about the
abstract, and painting with sound,
pretest subscribes to the format of fucking around aimlessly
like stoned, talented twats who can’t find a singer. Fodder for
guys who work at Guitar Center and practice with the hand grip gel
device on their lunch break so they can show you arpeggios when you
only fucking want guitar strings. Guys like that love this
crap.
prestest is 53.08 of the drummer and his chops, which and
he’s more than happy to show off to the rest of the band, who
follow him in tired circles. I got up, made dinner, came back and
listened to it again an hour later, and had already forgotten
almost everything. Is that what you want from an album? If it is,
then sell everything you’ve got and just purchase this one.