Of all the dance-punk revivalists, !!! has been the most consistently interesting and challenging, not to mention the group most likely to fill the dancefloor on indie rock night. While their previous album, the political and righteous Louden Up Now, was good enough to vault them to the level of the bands that inspired them (Gang of Four, the Pop Group, Liquid Liquid), Myth Takes firmly establishes them there. It's a different fire that burns here for !!!, mostly setting aside political concerns for fiery dancefloor rave-ups. The band sounds inspired, like they are plugged directly into a wall socket. The first three tracks are like opening a door and being blasted backward by a wall of flame and heat. Nic Offer's vocal chants, asides, and strung-together proclamations are more frantic than ever, and when he turns it down a notch, he sounds nearly sexy (as on "Must Be the Moon," a desperate story of sex and lust in the city). He has to be a live wire of energy to keep up with the band, which burns brightly and plays like they have something to prove from beginning to end. This is especially true of Justin van der Volgen, whose bass work underpins the freewheeling walls of chik-ing guitars with a fluid and funky bottom. His production is a masterwork, balancing and blending a kaleidoscope of guitars, drums, percussion, keys, and vocals. The record could have easily sounded like a mess, but he makes it sound alive and raw. When !!! finally slows things down after that initial burst, they do some interesting things -- "Heart of Hearts" is a dancefloor filler that manages to sound menacing and rubbery at the same time, "Break in Case of Anything" is a kitchen-sink funk epic that has elements of disco, dub, hip-hop, and a killer horn section, and "Yadnus" is a fun mash-up of glitter drumbeats, tough-guy vocals, chicken-scratch guitars, and sweeping synths. The only tracks that let the side down a bit are the slightly generic "Bend Over Beethoven," which sounds like something they could have come up with in their sleep, and the allad that ends the album, "Infiniford." On that last song, Offer's vocals don't suit the somber mood very well, and it's a down note to end such a wild ride of an album. These stumbles aside, Myth Takes is a thrilling success. Not too many bands even in heyday of the initial wave of dance-punk released records as full of energy, intelligence, and ferocious funk as this.
!!! at the Showplace Theater, Buffalo, NY with *The Stay Lows* and *Holy F--k* 5/12/2007Wow, what a great show! My ears are still ringing. I was five feet from the stage with "BrainFoodX":http://mog.com/BrainFoodX and a couple other friends. The Showplace Theater is exactly what it sounds like, a former movie theater turned dive bar. The beer was cheap though, $3.50 each. We got to the venue at 6:
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!!! – MYTH TAKES (2007)Whatever happened to Dance Punk? Those halcyon days of 2003 when every music magazine was reporting that Indie bands were discarding guitars and taking to processed rhythms, liberal shouting and copious additions of odd percussive instruments. !!! were one of the reckless new breed and the single that first brought attention to a wide audience, “Me and Giuliani Down By t
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I've been neglecting my mog. Here's the playlist from my last mixtape = love radio show. Stream it if you like for the next couple days until it's replaced with a new show, or you can subscribe to it for free. The podcast xml is http://patradio.org/mixtape.xml. Or if you're a iTunes user, click on the button below.1. !!! - Myth Takes Myth Takes2. Beck - Scarecrow Guero3. John Vande...
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I'm stuck on the first three tracks of Myth Takes, the new !!! album, which AJ was kind enough to hooks me up with. They're so good I haven't listened to the rest of the album. AH! I love this band! Makes me wanna...SHAKEMY ASS!!!And the lyrics man!"Like I give a fuck about that motherfucking shit!" are probably the best lyrics you could hear when you're pissed. I mean, come on, you're super an...
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work and stuff weigh heavy lately. i have done all i can all week to restore the super equilibrium and now i'm beat and i'd like to rest. i believe i am up for a break from MOG.anyway, this one's all me. words and music. none of the internet alterego mindfuck. just ilay, hook line sinker. there is no need to judge it, it's just songs. music is powerful but songs need not be precious.i am writin...
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RollingStone -- Gerhardt "Jerry" Fuchs, a drummer for indie-rock bands like !!!, the Juan MacLean and most recently Maserati, died early Sunday morning, November 8th, after falling down an elevator shaft. Fuchs was 34. ...
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!!! – MYTH TAKES (2007)Whatever happened to Dance Punk? Those halcyon days of 2003 when every music magazine was reporting that Indie bands were discarding guitars and taking to processed rhythms, liberal shouting and copious additions of odd percussive instruments. !!! were one of the reckless new breed and the single that first brought attention to a wide audience, “Me and Giuliani Down By t
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The extra exclamation points are there purposely. I just can't get enough of the band "!!!" (pronounced chk chk chk), especially the album "Myth Takes". Don't have much time to write about this now, but I thought I would share an unbelievable song with you. It's called "Bend Over Beethoven", and while I don't know if they are talking about the dog from the movie (can dogs bend over?) or the ...
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!!! vocalist and percussionist John Pugh has left the band to focus more on his other side project, Free Blood.Pugh has been noticeably absent from !!! shows throughout the summer. He confirmed to the Alternative Press that was to make "manic background music for ensuing debauchery" with Free Blood.Pugh spoke to Pitchfork more specifically and recently saying: "I officially quit at the end of J...
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I'm stuck on the first three tracks of Myth Takes, the new !!! album, which AJ was kind enough to hooks me up with. They're so good I haven't listened to the rest of the album. AH! I love this band! Makes me wanna...SHAKEMY ASS!!!And the lyrics man!"Like I give a fuck about that motherfucking shit!" are probably the best lyrics you could hear when you're pissed. I mean, come on, you're super an...
More >
I've been neglecting my mog. Here's the playlist from my last mixtape = love radio show. Stream it if you like for the next couple days until it's replaced with a new show, or you can subscribe to it for free. The podcast xml is http://patradio.org/mixtape.xml. Or if you're a iTunes user, click on the button below.1. !!! - Myth Takes Myth Takes2. Beck - Scarecrow Guero3. John Vande...
More >
!!! at the Showplace Theater, Buffalo, NY with *The Stay Lows* and *Holy F--k* 5/12/2007Wow, what a great show! My ears are still ringing. I was five feet from the stage with "BrainFoodX":http://mog.com/BrainFoodX and a couple other friends. The Showplace Theater is exactly what it sounds like, a former movie theater turned dive bar. The beer was cheap though, $3.50 each. We got to the venue at 6:
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 "Myth Takes")
