SPIT FOR ATHENA
SPIT FOR ATHENA
For an album dominated by ugly and graphic female abuse, distorted and violent psychotic thinking, piercing religious confusion and one tender love song to a transvestite, Spit For Athenaıs self-titled cacophony of candid emo and fuzzy-distorted indie rock sure is encouraging rockınıroll.
Of course, one might be better to ignore the lyrics lest the unnerving conversations from a fucked-up mind mars the great music. That is, unless one can attribute the shock of lyricist Levi Baileyıs words to the cause of blunt social commentary and not self-confessional mind crimes (there is a female within Spitıs ranks, after all.)
The introductory "Tom Cruise" examines the tragedy of humankind and the irony associated with fatality ("He steps out for a coffee and gets shot in the face/Everything tastes sweeter once youıve had a dick in your mouth" and "He cut off her tits and he raped while she ran out of blood/Accidents happen, man, and everyone dies alone,") but jars with body-jerking, rhythmically welcoming emo potency.
"Taillight Out" has the rocking, melodic approach of any emote-along emo favorite and that effect certainly falls in line with the song subjectıs distorted reach of hope ("If we just get there by nine, maybe my headache will go away (and we both know your bruises will fade)/I reach for your hand, because the chill of your repulsion works wonders like a good nightıs sleep.")
The climactic tempo complexities of "Sex Without Love" is violently gratifying while the garage masterpiece "Tylenol 3" shows off Spitıs great rocking capabilities, yet, for as sensationally effective as the music is, consistently throughout ten tracks, from understated tender guitar intros to explosively thrilling mid-song launches, it is Baileyıs lyrical observational wit and sewer-level detail that remains the characterizing showcase of this excellent group.
From the angry "Ship Goes Down," the TV culture gets a stiff shot ("So the two of you never got much talking done and you soon suffered the same fate as everyone: Cold and alone in the ground with no TV,") and the violently mischievous "Flogging The Dolphin" loves the appeal of writing about "jacking off" and tossing bricks over a wall at pedestrians and waiting for "an earthy thump."
In this world, "if there is a god, I doubt he cries every time some fucked up loser dies." So with that lack of empathy from the heavens above, Spit For Athena live with the realization that "Any pain is better than death," but, at the very least, perhaps they can shock the world into a slightly better place by confronting the ugliness on the chords of beautiful sanity and reason.
TECHNOPUNKMUSIC.COM Review by Bill Whiting-Mahoney
I cannot stop listening to this album. Like a more streamlined ...And
You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, this Michigan trio's pure
ecstatic fury on stage translates into heavy, richly textured art-punk spasms
on disc. Guitarist Levi's vocals are buried in the mix but, sort of
like the Pixies, cleverly left pronounced enough to reveal some of the
pathology of these (hopefully character-based) ramblings and leave the
listener wanting more. And how could you not love an album that begins
with a song called "Tom Cruise"?
-Ken Hunt
I'm not sure what to say about this,
other than it's distrubingly good. There are parts of this record that at
times are very similar to Bright Eyes, The Violent Femmes, and maybe even
a little bit Bob Dylan. Those descriptions don't do this record justice,
as Spit For Athena has it's own thing going on, and they do it very well.
Not to mention, this record has some of the most outrageous lyrics that
we've come across here in the warehouse in the past year. Not too far off
from what's going on, on labels like Saddle Creek.
-VERYDISTRO.COM
Sonic Youth have it, Nirvana had it, Pavement had it -
the ability to combine unbridled noisy elements and a
full-on sonic assault with catchy song writing and
inherent pop sensibilities that create inescapable
melodies. Spit for Athena has it.
Not only does Spit for Athena possess the ability to
ram a fistful of noise down your throat with every
3-chord offering, but they manage to combine their
attack with such lyrical creativity that their songs
literally resonate and refuse to leave your head.
Taking a stream-of-consciousness approach with each
song, creating first-person stories of torture, rape,
and social lessons in impropriety, and combining them
with short bursts of catchy guitar lines, Spit for
Athena's tunes are as unsettling as they are
subliminal. Their themes come from somewhere deep
inside every person who has ever carried a dark
secret, a hidden desire, a shameful history, and Spit
for Athena finds a way to transform them into glorious
celebrations of depravity.
In a musical environment that is becoming increasingly
bogged down under the weight of heavier and heavier
music that is often devoid of creativity or melody,
Spit for Athena has the courage to stand up, say
EXACTLY what they think, and present their music in a
totally unapologetic style, all the while waving a
middle finger in our faces and insisting that
unadventurous and close-minded music listeners please
FUCK OFF. -Dave Nicholas
SPIT FOR ATHENA
s/t CD (fric-014)
$10.00 Add to Cart
Contact:
spitforathenainyourpants@yahoo.com
