Search - Steel Pole Bathtub :: Unlistenable

The future is 1996

01/20/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Pretty much any review you read will tell the story of this record: deemed "unlistenable" by the band's former label circa 1996, the demos, recorded in various locations and mindsets, were shelved until 2002. and thus, some perfectly viable material was left unheard, because some suits couldn't hear a hit. letting their own ambition drive the car, steel pole bath tub have finally, thank god, released these demos on their own label, 0 to 1.What is presented on this album is a brand new steel pole bath tub - a band that is suddenly, miraculously at peace with their existence. the tension that was created by their previous records is broken, and what busts through the dam is a flood of spirited, heartfelt, and massively important revelation.now, i'll admit that sounds bad in a way. and i'll admit i was put off, even a bit disappointed on the first listen. i wanted another "scars from falling down", another "miracle of sound in motion", another "tulip". But having given it a chance to sink in, what I hear is an extension of all of those - only this time nobody was trying to make the perfect album. they were just doing what felt right. and the result is punker than punk.there are a handful of tracks that sound like they were destined for a real sound-alike follow up to "scars". "Kinder Party" is a wailing and sedated, unapologetic ode to the therapeutic qualities of vandalism, and "Black Eye Fixer" takes the band's newfound adoration for textural sampling to a beach party, where everybody would be dancing if they hadn't accidentally taken Nyquil instead of Dayquil.but aside from these tracks, vocals on the album are minimal and frequently nonverbal - choral ringing of jubilant voices adorns a number of otherwise very crunchy tracks, resulting in what sounds like an accidental confrontation between good and evil.three tracks are covers from the Cars' first album, but each of them are twisted in ways that make it a bit awkward to use the word "cover"... Adaptations that give a nod to the original version but make very clear that nobody's interested in reliving the past. "My Best Friend's a Girl", for instance, borrows all of its lyrics from the Cars' original, but the similarities end there as what unfolds is perhaps the single sweetest serenade for a wife/girlfriend/daughter/sister that the world has ever heard.Bottom line: the future is 1996. This stuff is still bleeding edge arthouse jazz rock. It does not necessarily feel like the logical "next step" based on their previous records, but it's clearly the next step they wanted you to hear. And that's worth your trouble."

Correction On Track Listings

I. Hodgkinson | 02/01/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm adding this review, because almost everywhere on the internet seems to have the wrong track listings. This isn't easy to notice due to STPB's distorted vocals, however; But unless I have a misproduced CD, the correct listing should be approximately this, for the Zero To One release...



1.) Spoon House...................(1:24)

2.) Action Man Theme..............(3:59)

(These two are usually counted as one song, but that places Black Eye Fixer in track 2, which it's not on my CD)

3.) Black Eye Fixer...............(4:12)

4.) What I Need...................(3:38)

5.) Re-Juvenilated................(1:12)

6.) Teenage Middle Finger.........(1:24)

7.) Kinder Party..................(5:10)

8.) Spun..........................(3:12)

9.) Jack Aloha....................(2:26)

10.) Hot Water Into Steam.........(1:58)

11.) Good Times...................(1:43)

12.) My Best Friend's A Girl......(1:33)



From here on, I'm not certain, but assuming each track remains in the order of the inlay, just bumped one along as before;



13.) Cherry Tomato........(3:48)

14.) Glad Ass.............(1:35)

15.) Old Man Bar..........(1:47)

16.) Park Night...........(2:24)

17.) H20 2................(1:42)

18.) [Untitled Track].....(3:23)

19.) [Untitled Track]....(26:07)





What to say about the record itself? It would be easy to repeat the endless Unlistenable clichés too, but the simple truth is that if you like "Art-House noise", in general, or Steel Pole Bath Tub in particular, then this is an album you should buy. I rank it slightly over "Tulip" in STPB's catalogue... just expect lots of confusion about what you are actually listening to at any moment!"