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Prescott Curlywolf Funanimal World Freedom Records (www.freedomrecords.com) Okay, if John Fogarty and Kurt Cobain had a kid... There are a lot of analogies you could make to describe Prescott Curlywolf's sound on their latest, "Funanimal World." They have the energy of the early Pixies, and share their penchant for short songs and oddball melodies, a la "Surfer Rosa." Their Austin, TX roots pop up every so often, making them sound like a muscular Credence Clearwater Revival. And the straightforward songs even brings to mind the Ramones at times (20 songs, 49 minutes.) "Pine" takes the melody from Paul McCartney's "Let `Em In" and turns it into a menacing, split-octave heavy metal riff. The lackadaisical vocals and slightly out of tune riffing brings to mind Pavement on "Whistler." There's even a little Stones in "Thicker," with its haphazard background vocals and thick, chordy riffs. But even if these guys take their inspiration from a variety of sources, they don't end up sounding like anyone else. There are so many sounds stuffed into these two-minute songs, it takes repeated listenings to hear everything. Clocking in at three minutes and thirty-nine seconds, "Magdalene" counts as an opus for Prescott Curlywolf. Only two other song out of the twenty break the magical three minute mark. "Starkweather" builds from a single voice and a jangley but distorted guitar into a shuffling, train-rolling snare beat. It's a display of tension and dynamics far too few bands pay attention to these days. They do get a bit cynical at times, but it's always tempered by the band's sense of humor. On "Parade," they sing, "We were so serious for so long that all the people thought that we were mad." They seem to be making fun of themselves as much as anybody else. "1XHero" starts out with the melody from the nursery rhyme "Rockabye" before kicking in with bullhorn vocals and "hey na na" harmony hooks. The chorus, "If it gets too tough we'll just quit," comes in late in the song, and then the song just ends. In the immortal words of Nigel Tuffnel, there's a fine line between clever and stupid. I'm not sure which side this falls on, but it's engaging nonsense either way. Prescott Curlywolf also sounds pretty tight despite having recorded the entire album live on a two-track over two days. Hell, that even beats Frank Black and the Catholics' time clocked for their first album. "Funanimal World" is a great grab bag. If you're looking for twenty good songs on one album, look here first. -Nick |
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