AMG Review of No More Music

Mark Deming
All Music Guide

Wisconsin noise rock mavens IfIHadAHiFi sound tighter and more focused on their second album, No More Music, but the manic aural scattergun approach that was their calling card on Ones and Zeroes is still very much in evidence. With Noise Lesion out of the band and Reno Loner taking over on keyboards and electronics, the samples and found sounds that were a major part of the debut are mostly absent on No More Music, and Loner's contributions sound more like an organic part of the songs rather than a musical spanner in the works (albeit an exciting and imaginative spanner). Then again, "organic" isn't quite the right word for IfIHadAHiFi; the band remains gloriously unnatural as Yale Delay's harsh and edgy guitars, Mr. Alarm's throbbing bass, and Dr. Awkward's pile-driver drumming collide against one another like pinballs but somehow come together at crucial moments like fingers folding into a fist, ready to slam into the center of your face. Experience and roadwork have honed the group's attack and No More Music is noticeably tighter and more precise than the debut, as the songs spin out with a relentless intensity that leaves the more measured approach of Ones and Zeroes in the dust. The curious but genuine wit of the debut isn't as prominent this time, but the Stevie Wonder cover that closes out the album not only suggests these guys could actually be funky if they wanted to, but that there's a human heart behind this weird machine that makes the whole thing even more remarkable. On the opening cut, IfIHadAHiFi announce that they want to steal our potential energy, but that has to be a lie -- they clearly have enough power to light a major metropolis for months on end, and No More Music confirms they know just what to do with all that spare voltage.