Thursday, July 21, 2011

Look Out - Uncle Larry's Back!

Like the best little nuggets culled from what must have been bake off day at the insane asylum, Uncle Larry offers us the abstract and energetic Housefly EP.  

Primarily in the same vein as 2009's spectacularly odd full length The Life & Times of Frederick Caesar, Housefly sees the band further experimenting (if that were at all possible) with an almost punk-meets-surf rock vibe.  Still, Housefly should not be regarded as leftover cuts from Frederick Caesar - Uncle Larry is up to new and exciting deviations here, and are honing their skill to boot!

Noticeably expanded upon are Billy Judge Baldus's vocals, for example.  Off key has been his deliberate and usual delivery thus far, but here he demonstrates that he can actually sing in tune when it suits him.  Granted, it rarely suits him - but his ability to bounce his voice from slightly off to right on is impressive.  His eccentric guitar flailing, too, is in top form here - as expected - and Garrick Karpinski's rivet and hammer percussion continues to demonstrate that he is perhaps one of the most intuitive drummers known to rock music.  In keeping, Shane Wagner's bass guitar holds the whole mess down with vim and vigor.  Too little credit goes to bass players in unpredictable ensembles (which this band meets all prerequisites for - without question!) for their hand in keeping things in check, while their counterparts hang from the rafters and careen off the walls.   

Yes, the standard UL set for themselves seems to be in place, but this EP hints that changes are coming in the way the band does whatever the hell it is they do...

Take Houselfy's most stand-out track, the horn laden "Love Is A Thing".  If the band were so inclined to switch up the lyrics, it could pass for a punky interpretation of Tom Waits' "Temptation".  "Love Is A Thing" is not a cover song at all - it's purely original - but it definitely could play behind the afore mentioned Waits track, and make you wonder what an Uncle Larry version of it would sound like.  Guest trumpet player Eric Sperry's accompaniment in the song adds a cool new dimension to it - one that dares you to try not to spazz out at the thought of him becoming a recurring guest on the group's future releases - or even a full fledged member.  Of course, Trumpet isn't a new instrument found in Uncle Larry's music - Nell Speer did some fine work with it on the Frederick Caesar album - but Sperry's style grips in an entirely different way.  It seems more agile, more rich and jabbing and swing-like, and somehow just more present.  

Another gem is "At The Beach", a song that floats in and levels out into a groove and sway that at first seems foreign to the band's usual posture.  Midway through the song convalesces, though, and it's at that point you realize Uncle Larry's still going to do it up proper - all fears you may have had were misconceived!  Still, "At The Beach" easily has more mainstream appeal than anything else in the group's repertoire.  It's guitar work is less wild, more synonymous with the bass and overall more restrained.  The song adheres to a more "radio rock friendly" standard than UL's usual Devil may care approach.  That's not at all to discredit Uncle Larry's style and form; bands that break the rules are far more brilliant when they pretend to play by them. 

All of this aside, the fact remains that Uncle Larry has always been the kind of band you either completely love or hate, but any band's ability to expand and progress their sound without alienating their fans (or seeming desperate to collect new ones) can be a walk on a very fine tightrope.  UL has demonstrated real agility in this regard: an uncompromising dedication to their art, but showing just enough growth with each release to successfully avoid becoming a parody of themselves.  It makes you want to be cautious getting too comfortable around them, because you can never really anticipate just what they might do.  
But no need to worry - all the experimenting, touching and petting that this Uncle Larry does is far from inappropriate. 

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