Love Ends Disaster! City of Glass

Love Ends Disaster! falls down where most bands do and handle it in much the same way.  They try to compensate for a lack of compelling material with vigorous musicianship.  And it’s true, they generate a decent energy on a number of tracks, but [Untitled Dream #24] is symptomatic of the problem here.  They are attempting to wring some emotional weight out of a fairly bland melodic fragment and eventually give up to rock out for a little while; why, I don’t know.  They certainly seem comfortable when running through the angular rock paces.  In fact there is an admirable flirtation with dissonance on this record that nearly redeems it.  But ultimately, if you’re reminded of Wire or even the great Pere Ubu at times, you’re likely to miss the extra something those experimental bands brought to the table.

One thing I’m always looking for is a clear point of view and an intelligent voice.  I’d like an artist to have something to say, even if it’s a simple statement like “Let’s Dance!”  There’s a lot of swagger and attitude to be found, but the preponderance of lyrical cliché makes it fall flat.  I could live with weak lyrics if the music kept me coming back.  Unfortunately, I can only point to one song worth remembering – the second cut, Suzanne.  It’s a tune that holds together and even earns the right to a small, freaky diversion in the middle.  There’s some promise on this song, but the band seems like it would rather be experimenting with form than celebrating it.  That would be fine if the music had that “it’s awful yet I cannot look away” quality that Ubu and Beefheart had, or if it had the tossed-off pop brilliance of the early Wire albums.  It doesn’t.  And will someone please tell me what's going on with all the exclamation points?