Ale Mania – United States of Abamonation
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Terrible name. Let’s get past that. These guys are bubbling up from the depths of the La Brea tar pits, from the same SoCal murk that spawned Ariel Pink and other earnest explorers of the early ’70s. Not sure if this song’s title is ribbing on Kanye’s assessment of the zeitgeist, but musically it’s vaguely in Haunted Graffiti territory, heavier on the post-punk than synth side of the sound. When I listen to the album (A, Who Sings That Beat?) as a whole, I’m reminded of nothing more than the early Smashing Pumpkins demos. And those in turn were distillations of Southern Death Cult’s framework for a stripped-down, acid washed blue jeans rock formalism. You’ve got bits of all of that here, patched together with short, moody electronic tracks that do their best to mimic Coil. More oddball dial-spanning from the increasingly intriguing Volar Records.
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Ale Mania – United States of Abamonation [download] [buy]
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