Monday, August 11, 2014

The Orwells Destroy Disgraceland


If George Orwell was more like The Orwells, 1984 wouldn't be something to be terrified about, but something to be embraced and over indulged in. Unlike Big Brother stalking in the background this power pop group from Chicago is overly energetic, raucous, and in your face. This spunk and hyperactivity bleeds through every song of their debut album, Disgraceland.

With a bit of Strokesian cool, Pixies like noise and Parquet Courtsian sloppiness The Orwells crank it up to 11 and kick out the jams. And what jams they are. The kinetic nature of these guys is hard to keep up with and they fire out songs at such a rapid rate that Disgraceland is almost over before it started. Sure they slow it down for a few minutes here and there but even their "ballads," feel like out of breath shots of heartache; I love it. Disgraceland is a fun and uber catchy record whose enthusiasm is infectious and almost overbearing. I really like how the band channels power pop through this lively filter that involves churning out raw riff after riff in a machine gun like spray of notes that hits everything it comes across.

Disgraceland churns and burns and dashes and sprints across songs. It has a classic feel despite being brand new and songs like, "Let It Burn," "Southern Comfort," and "Gotta Get Down," sum up Disgraceland perfectly. Slightly chaotic, always noisy, and filled with great songs Disgraceland is a statement as to the current state of power pop and it's current state is awesome.

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