Chores
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The Subtle Politics of the Public Hammock - Chores Album Review
Album Review
Doing the Ironing? Washing the car? Cleaning your bedroom? Anyone up for these things? No? Well, there's a quick audience survey to show that Chores is a daft name for a band. It also begs the comment that listening to Chores is indeed a chore. Which isn't true.
However, debut album "The Subtle Politics of the Public Hammock" is a mixed bag. It starts with a strange intro broadcast in Esperanto (a constructed international auxiliary language, apparently), which falls delightfully into the first song, "My Own Private Esperanto". But annoyingly this song outlives its welcome. As does the next one. Quirky shouty vocals and low-fi scrappy guitars a six-minute song does not suit.
"Super Car" improves things though, feeling far more focused and intense. After that "New New Deal" introduces a laidback, trippy sound to the roster, which works well too, especially with its hint of sax and dissonant ending.
Many fans rave about female lead Jada Pierce's vocals, however, her tendency to emphasize the last word on every flippin' line, and cram too many words into a single line in a stop-start fashion, means it's perhaps a love it or hate it thing, but one thing for certain is that her delivery is about as graceful as this sentence.
In fact, Lou Thomas, the male lead vocalist has far more listenable vocals, although he only really takes the front seat in "Noinsuranceland", which comes and goes without doing much.
Overall though, there's a big saving grace of the album, which is that Chores have crafted songs from their own little world. It may feature some duffers, but it's still a world of their creation. They have an energy and dedication to their sound, which is refreshing, even if they think they're weirder than they actually are (like a thirteen-year-old with one of those earlobe-stretching African tribesman earrings). It's generally interesting and successful, although those reviews comparing them to Television and Pavement should definitely be read through hype-resistant glasses.
