Short and, in its own unique way, sweet,
the Weird Weeds' second album is well-worthy of a band with members who have performed with fellow Texans like
Jandek and
Tom Carter of
Charalambides. There's much of the same sense of haunting distance right from the start of Weird Feelings, as "Bad Dreams" begins with trebly chimes, softly sung
chant-like vocals from
Sandy Ewen and the barest of guitar parts. But in their own way the trio are far more
pop-minded than their contemporaries, in a skeletal and deliberative fashion; most of the songs are fairly short, a number are under two minutes long, and the fractured, extended guitar workouts familiar from pieces like Ewen's work with
Carter in
Spiderwebs here serve as background to the minimal hooks. Call it what happens when
Wire or the
Minutemen's aesthetic approach is applied to 21st century psychedelia -- and certainly guitarist
Aaron Russell's work with members of
Deerhoof elsewhere has an echo in the stop-start song structures as well, as "Nose to the Wind" readily shows -- but the end result is a series of surprising and swiftly captivating performances. Hearing moments like an eight-person chorus appear only at the conclusion of the title song for barely one line, or the gently swelling and then ebbing guitar part that concludes "For You to See Me" shows how well the band works with placing the seemingly simplest of parts. Ewen and
Nick Hennies' vocals aren't simply another instrument, but by eschewing the typical prominence given to the singer in much
rock & roll they place their brief character sketches and snatches of strange relationships in a slightly removed and all the more unnerving context. (Perhaps their best line in that vein comes from "Tupper" -- "We'll scratch our faces against the floor. I'll fill your home with love.") ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide
Everett P. (