Blood on the Wall. Awesomer. The Social Registery, 9/7/5.
reviwed by dj matthew stark rubin. fcc clean as far as i can tell.

Indie Riff Rock. A little bit of punk, a lot of affectation. A love for Sonic Youth is evident but measured. I think this is supposed to sound cool, but it’s just OK. Many of the songs are dancey and catchy, which is nice, but it doesn’t live up to its genius title. Definitely picks up in the second half, though, as the songs get shorter, looser, and faster. The two songs that break from the mold entirely by getting slower and sentimental (4, 14) are actually the two catchiest though. The singing throughout- boy and girl- sounds really wannabe, if that’s an adjective, and what I can make out of the lyrics is lame. The album grew on me with multiple listens, for sure, but ultimately it’s just…good.

My picks: 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14

1- One mid-tempo riff the whole time. Bland singing. Riff comes in later as lead line one octave higher- how creative! The song is called “Stoner Jam,” but it sobered me right up.
2- speedy melodic guitar playing, nice syncopated drum part, and suddenly the singer sounds like Thurston Moore joined at the drive in. repetitive but good vibe, and a nice bridge.
3- starts with heavy bass, quasi-punk drumming, joined by some off-kilter chick singing and one grating but cool guitar note. Dance!
4- 2 sloppy chords, some light snare, and reserved vox. Uncharacteristically effect-laden echo guitar lead joins in before the periodic mini-build ups. Pretty.
5- A riff predominates, much like track 1, but then it opens up into a catchy Pavement-esque section which is very pleasant.
6- Another two-chord riff- how surprising. Chick singer kinda singing, kinda moaning. Some nice lead guitar work. Catchy enough. Ends with some dead space, so fade it out quick.
7- One chord, played fast, with good energy, and little noodle lead part. Then two more chords. Breaks down to just bass and drums. Dance!
8- Total Pixies rip-off four-chord pattern, which isn’t a bad thing. Then some Black Francis crooning over just the bass and drums for the verse. Even the hush-hush backing vox sound like Kim. When the guitars come back, though, it is satisfying. Pleasant.
9- Fast and Punk. I don’t buy the screaming, but I like it. Short!
10- Bass and drums doing the sloppy thing, then some sloppy guitar noise. And a little chick-singing.
11- Singer singin the same melody as the riff, which is cool. Then some hectic rocking. Rock.
12- Fast Rockabilly Riff. More spaz singing with some crashy shit going on. Has a catchy bridge-type section too, which is out-of-place in its melodic-ness but its still good.
13- One bass note, some guitar masturbation, and the chick trying to sound cool by singing about whiskey and debutantes. Get over yourself- you pay rent in Brooklyn moron. Sorta like a Sonic Youth song sung by Kim Gordon, if she weren’t being totally lame.
14- this acoustic and piano ballad makes NO sense on this album, but it’s actually quite good. Nice walking bass-line comes in half-way through and things pick up a bit, but stays low-key throughout.