Labels: Progeria
Review by: Andy Malcolm
Can anyone stop the rock that is the Party of Helicopters? They were not content with releasing one of the best records of 2000, so decided to follow up with a three-song 12″ on Progeria. Nice.
And it follows on rather well from that album. Which I never reviewed as I frankly found it too hard to describe their sound for some reason. Just call me… what’s the word for someone with a limited vocabulary? First track on here is ‘The Conquering’ which rumbles a long for it’s entire side on 45rpm. It’s a typical POH clash of an 80’s metal guitar line running rife throughout their haunting post-hardcore rock riffage and airy vocals that ethereally and sometimes uncomfortably drift through the music. As the track winds a long, it heads in a spacier direction, building up a thick wall of guitar sound much in the way that Man I Fell In Love With (guys from POH were in that band). The thumping drums join the fray, a long with some keyboards, as the song spirals to a strangely pretty conclusion, Though they seemed to run out of space on this side of the record when it abruptly finishes.
But the song you’ve come to hear is ‘+8 Sack of Fear’, which previously appeared on an old hard to find 7″, though not to be confused with ‘+7 Sack of Fear’ from the LP. Anyway, this is a dynamite track, screwing around with screechy keyboard sounds at the start, before crunching into the metal, with the subtle bass secretly pushing the song a long. Vocals are mixed louder on this track, and are done in the familiar POH style of having the singer almost harmonising with himself. Weirdity. Then things tumble seamlessly into ‘The Tundra’, riffing away in baffling fashion with fucked up spoken and shouty vocals to get it going, it’s a bit of a quirky effort here (as if any POH songs aren’t), mixing up good ole classic rock ‘n’ roll with their own ideas.
Well, I still am monumentally incapable of summarising this bands sound properly, but I do know that they are on to something, and that you should own all their records, even if my incompetent babbling doesn’t make them sound like the great band that they actually are. Ok? Thanks.