Laughing Gasping
There’s been a bit of talk about this band out of Portland, Oregon, Wet Confetti, and justifiably so. If their live shows are anything like their last record, This Is Illegal So Do It Fast, there will be a lot of sweaty, mind-blown, indie rock kids in 2007. But while their own talent can speak for itself, most of the recent hype over the band’s new record, Laughing Gasping, has been revolving around its producer, Gang of Four bassist, Dave Allen.
Allen has had his hands on both the production and performance sides of numerous projects since his departure from Gang of Four, and though he and the original members of the seminal post-punk band are now reunited, he spends much of his time managing the Pampelmoose label.
The most recent fruit of his labor is Laughing Gasping, a neatly constructed synth-driven, fast paced, indie rock album.
From the beginning of the record, Alberta Poon’s vocals stand at the forefront, singing, screaming, sighing, and wooing. On their previous release, Poon shared vocal duties a bit with Daniel Grazzini (guitar/synths). Not so on this album, and I have to say it has lost something. Just listening to the first few tracks on This Is Illegal So Do It Fast harkens a band with sharper teeth. While no band should opt to sound like any other, their old antics held them up to be compared with the chaos of Sonic Youth and the elegance of Blonde Redhead. The vocals on Laughing Gasping are a bit too much from the diaphragm (a la Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and not enough from the streets (Kim Gordon). Too proper.
It does make threatening lines like, "say it again to me and you will regret it, say it again to me and you can forget it" (Take My Advice) a little funnier than probably intended.
I did have similar feelings about Nea’s vocals on Echo is Your Love’s most recent album, Humansize, and one little live show changed that completely. It’s very possible that is the case with Laughing Gasping.
Possibly overused on this album, or maybe used to the wrong degree, are the keyboards and electronics.
The synthesizers in Dazzle of Dynamite make the band seem about as innocent as they look...a bunch of nice young kids who might ask their parents if their friends can come over for stove-top and game of Contra. With Allen and Mike Cozzi (Shriekback) behind the control deck it’s a bit confusing that Wet Confetti seems to be taking fewer risks than in their earlier work.
Aside from the somewhat childishness of the synthesizers, the drums and bass are as tight as ever and Grazzini’s guitar is all over the place, from 1978 to 2020.
The title track seems to change the mood a bit, the synths are dirtier and groovy - if a robot could actually dance the robot, it would definitely oil up and rock out to this song.
On Make an Offer, the guitar rips bloody Johnny Greenwood gashes through the air revealing an aftermath of simple dubby bass and cautious drums that pull you seamlessly into the next track, I Can’t Refuse. It’s some of the best and most urgent work on the album...and maybe I am, in fact, a little threatened by Poon’s lyrics now. Marine Snow blissfully ends the album, finally capturing a fine balance of vintage and new-wave synthwork.
The album isn’t exactly where I had hoped it to be, but it definitely is fun and full of energy. Something audiences will appreciate.
by Wet Confetti
www.wetconfetti.com
www.pampelmoose.com
