The album's first track, "National Trauma," opens with a bang. No easing in, but jolting us awake with a great, steady beat, and a song title that immediately speaks to us. And what a great sound, with elements of punk and a pop joy to the chorus. "Everything's become a market/Everything's become a target." The vibe changes, the song slowing down toward the end. "It was just a pack of assholes/So in love with themselves." Yup. And those are the lines that conclude the song. That's followed by "Everybody Wants To Screw The World," one of the songs they played at that Kulak's Woodshed show. It's a great song, with a heavier vibe at the beginning, and a lighter pop feel at certain moments that takes us back, though it is clearly a song that speaks strongly to our current times. "All the CEOs and game show hosts." Indeed, those people are totally screwing the world, aided by all the imbeciles who mistake bullying for strength. Like the first track, this one changes at one point, this one approximately halfway through, then reminding me a bit of Golden Earring's "Twilight Zone." The duo recently released a video for this song.
Broken Sound changes gears and moods then with "Release," another song the duo performed at the birthday concert. "What's inside/Release, release/Speak your mind/Release, release, release." You might take those lyrics as advice to let go of your anger by expressing it. And that indeed might be part of it, I suppose, but this song is really about putting your music out there, letting the world hear it. It's easier than ever to do so. "In this age of distribution, nothing's in the way/There's no need for record labels, middle men are all passé." It makes me wonder what great music from decades past we missed out on because the labels weren't interested in it. Because, really, the best music coming out these days is not on any major label, and it is certainly not on the Billboard Hot 100. This is a positive, encouraging song. Then "Constellation" is a song from the perspective of someone who has achieved some acclaim, some influence, but still yearns for home. "I'm just a boy on my own/Kindly take me home." There is a bit of a John Lennon influence heard here at times.
Then we get the fantastic "Melt The Bots," the performance of which included the use of electronic masks at the Kulak's Woodshed show, making it even more memorable. "The moment the robots take over the world/We die, we die/Melt the bots, melt the bots, melt the bots." Obviously, this is a timely tune, in a time when AI is infiltrating all sorts of aspects of our lives, including the arts, and reality is becoming even more dubious. This is a song you'll want to play loudly, a song to sing along to, to shout along to. Let's do what we can to avoid a future that is cold and inhuman. That's followed by another song the duo played at the birthday show, "Company Man, Factory Girl." It begins with the sounds of work, before a beat leads us into the song. "Company man, company car/Out on the limb, a bit too far." This is a great, driving, forceful rock song. "The monster will provide for you/Uniforms, hats and boots." There is a delicious tension to this one, an industrial madness, a metal heart that the powers want beating inside all of us.
"Finger Is Faster Than Words" has a kind of catchy pop element to it, a bit of a 1980s thing happening; that is, the darker side of 1980s pop. So it has a different sound and vibe from the duo's other material. "I want to tell the world about me and you/I want to kiss and tell." And soon they're repeating, "Shut me up, you'd better shut me up." And does she shut him up with her finger? Does she hush him? It's kind of a fun song. It is then followed by "I Heard Your Name In The Voice Of Robert Stack." I dig the playful title. Robert Stack was an actor with a pretty impressive career (To Be Or Not To Be, Airplane!, etc.), but who for many people became known primarily for Unsolved Mysteries. And that's what we're thinking of when we hear these lines: "But I heard your name in the voice of Robert Stack/That's when I knew you were never coming back."
"Duga Woodpecker" has a darker, heavier sound, a song delivered with an intensity. And just as I'm wondering what happened to the Duga array, these guys sing, "The Cold War isn't over." And we hear the tapping noise of the system. There is an interesting backing vocal part, "Duga, duga," that reminds me of a moment from the Grateful Dead's Blues For Allah album, though there it is "Diga" in the background. "We are not alone, we are not alone, we are not alone." The album concludes with "Zapruder's Other Films." Abraham Zapruder is known for his 8 mm film capturing John F. Kennedy's assassination. At the beginning of the track, we hear the sound effect of a film camera. Did Zapruder shoot other films with it? You'd figure, yes, of course he would have, and they would have tackled the more typical topics of home movies. This is such an unusual and captivating song. The line "On a beautiful Dallas day" is repeated at the end, even as the song begins to fade out.
CD Track List
- National Trauma
- Everybody Wants To Screw The World
- Release
- Constellation
- Melt The Bots
- Company Man, Factory Girl
- Finger Is Faster Than Words
- I Heard Your Name In The Voice Of Robert Stack
- Duga Woodpecker
- Zapruder's Other Films
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