There’s a certain single-minded determination to the music of Archie Bronson Outfit, a London band fond of grinding noise and throbbing beats on its third album, “Coconut” (Domino).

It’s a relentless record, full of songs that seethe and roil as singer Sam Windett intones his lyrics through urgent, crackling static, as if he’s howling through a telephone receiver over a bad connection. “Coconut” is a dancier record than 2006′s “Derdang Derdang” — credit producer Tim Goldworthy (of DFA Records) for at least some of that — though the band manages to preserve the punkier elements of its sound, too. Electronic sounds swirl around a spare beat and terse, pumping bassline on “Hoola,” while single “Shark’s Tooth” pulses with glittering intensity.

The trio demonstrates precision and control up to the halfway point before “You Have a Right to a Mountain Life/One Up Yourself” topples into a sprawling tangle of noisy guitars and crashing drums that grows tedious well before the 4 1/2-minute song ends.

Things recover somewhat with the imposing riff and deep beat of “Bite It & Believe It,” and the band has fully regained its footing by “Run Gospel Singer,” a psychedelic rave-up of jittery drums and vocals soaked in reverb.

It’s the last song on the record, which is a strong outing, if not quite the band’s best.

LISTEN
Shark’s Tooth mp3

(Photo and mp3 courtesy of Domino Records)

March 24, 2010 at 11:39 am | Share |