Fat History Month makes songs that can sound punk progressive and totally lackadaisical at the same time. A song like Everyday is Christmas can make you feel tipsy one moment and angry the next and this is just from the ever changing shift in tone and texture, and time signatures. The wonderfully down trodden Cat in a Box will have you taking in strays and become a cat lady even if you're a guy: "I'm in a cardboard box that's soggy wet and I still think it's keeping me dry." This somewhat acoustic track still feels as thick and strident as the rest of the album exploding when the drums kick in. Is it really about a cat (?), no way. Love this track.
Melodies seemingly wander aimlessly on most of these tracks and guitar strings bend and half step almost as a matter of course making this all seem like a dreamy askew trip. The discordant nature makes you feel the compositions in your gut. The title track, Bad History Month feels itself like a dusty Western. Very much like a lazy ride on a horse until it gets all heavy and disjointed like a rock slide. Some of the music interludes are absolutely head tripping.
The Future, musically, pumps out some progressive garage strains that somehow make me think of At the Drive In. Probably the most conventional composition and still out there as it implodes, breaks apart, gets a bit mellow and pretty and then ends with a electronic industrial sound. The last track, I Ate Myself And I Want To Die is avant-garde, weird and beautiful at the same time. As it slows to breathe, the guitar lines chase themselves as the rest of the song feels like it needs to catch up. This song moves along in a linear fashion, not feeling the need to follow conventional patterns (who needs verses and choruses anyway). This can feel oddly rewarding, each part revealing new discoveries. For some of you, it might be so strange as to be off putting. Me, I revel in things that are different and applaud what Fat History Month is laying down. These songs may feel like fever dreams but they are dreams nonetheless. Open your mind and check Fat History Month out.
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Robb Donker
PRESS NOTES reveal that: The band will be heading out on the road with labelmates Pile this Spring for a six week national tour that has already generated a great deal of buzz from college radio, making several stops in California, including an instore performance at Origami Vinyl on April 10th.
Bad History Month was released on 4/1/13
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