Labels: Don Giovanni
Review by: Andy Malcolm
This one took me a few listens to get. I wrote it off fairly quickly initially, particularly with a view to the terrible cover with three awkward dorks staring at the camera with their mouths hanging open. The dude in the middle looks like he could have been in Mid Carson July and if you ever saw a picture of those guys circa 1998 you would recall that they were pretty much the most awkward looking band ever. Anyway, like I say, I was pretty puzzled by Pregnant, and then I figured it out. “These guys sound like they love Unwound, and grunge!”, and I enjoy both those things too, more Unwound than grunge but hey. Anyway, there are four tracks on this single, of various calibre. The first couple in particular really catch my attention, now that I know what to look for. “Falling Over” rumbles into earshot, with a very Unwound riff and hefty rhythm section bludgeoning away. The droney vocals lazily drawl away over the top. It quickly gives way to “You Give It To Me” where the vocals are suddenly urgent and shouted, catching me off guard each time. The change of pace works nicely, I like the switch up to with guitar chimes over the persistent dirge of the bass. Final A-side song, “God Is Nein” is quickfire and perhaps ill suited to the pace of this record. Title track on the flip, starts off slow, and loafing, before all of a sudden it lurches into an exhuberant explosion of squawking and yelping. Fun.
A definite grower here, not sure that too many people are after a record that sounds like this in 2009, but perhaps you are, in which case, you oughta get it.