eMusic Review 0

eMusic Contributor

08.23.10

This is mysterious music, and being confused by it is a pleasure

Label: Jagjaguwar / SC Distribution

The sundry details of the Calgary four-piece Women are easy enough to find, but it would take away some of the fun of their enigmatic and hypnotic second album, Public Strain. This is truly mysterious music, and being confused by it is a pleasure.

Recorded by fellow Canadian Chad VanGaalen, Public Strain, is of medium fidelity but close-up in its perspective. On songs like the creeping "China Steps," you can hear the squeak of the kick drum pedal. But the album doesn't feel live as much as it does alive. Songs seem to organically go in intuitive but unexpected directions, making severe changes in pace, volume and tone without warning.

Like their self-titled debut, Public Strain calls to mind the work of post-punk's Mount Rushmore — Public Image Limited, Television and Joy Division — and some of its lesser known but equally influential proponents, such as This Heat.

Great post-punk often finds bands drawing moments of strange beauty out of abrasive sounds, or finding a groove in broken rhythms, two things Women do with great aplomb. "Penal Colony," despite its title, is actually a gorgeous piece of nearly choral-pop, while the aforementioned "China Steps" and "Untogether," chase… read more »

tar...feathers, toned down

this record is good on its own terms, but I especially like it because I hear a bit of the swedish art rock group "tar...feathers" (e.g. 'was it even there'), and not in a rip off way because they were never successful enough to be ripped off. I could never get anyone to like that band, so I feel redeemed.

impressive

One of my favorite guitar albums of the last year. particular highlights are China Steps and Eyesore, but as someone prev said, it's probably best listened to as a whole. If you're a fan of slightly more abrasive guitar bands like Sonic Youth, Fugazi or more recently Deerhunter I would recommend giving this a try.

Best Album of 2010

For me, Public Strain is a manic-depressive, art-damaged masterpiece. Full of dissonance and tension, the most frenetic and furious moments suddenly evolve into sublime passages offering relief . All sounds are derived from the standard guitars/vocals//bass/drums configuration, but the arrangements are incomparably angular, and when they are not angular, they are beautiful and bleary-eyed. The vocals are often anxious, low in the mix and shrouded in reverberation. The lyrics are mostly indiscernible, but the moods evoked are irrefutable. This is one of those records where the whole is so much greater than the sum of the parts, even though many of the tracks (especially 'Eyesore') can easily impress on their own. The record must be played from start to finish to obtain the intended effect. An album like this does not come around very often, just as i am not moved to write a record review very often.