Concept: Multi-genre band pursues pop rock and a bit of funk at their own peril.
Sound: To set the record straight, these guys are not Beck, and are not what you would call musical chameleons. Their electronica is their specialty, as evidenced by their lesser-known EP It’s Complicated Being A Wizard, featuring one twenty minute song with multiple movements of contrasting textures. The brief teases of this sound on every other new track are the only thing I can recall having listened to the entire album. Their attempt at rock is of the same quality you’d expect if The Decemberists tried their hand at experimental metal. The music is completely unoriginal, the vocal flourishes brain-dead. Chk-chk-chk is a far superior alternative in the narrow market for groove bands with a weak singer that ruins everything. What we get here on The Satanic Satanist is the unfortunate lovechild of Oasis and John Mayer, its parents smiling uncomfortably as it grins with a finger in its nose and accidentally kicks the ball offside in the final minutes of the Junior Varsity tournament. The yawns rarely cease in this centerpiece manifestation of tune-in drop-out philosophy.
Lyrics: Why, yes! The world would pretty much have to be a better place if we all just loved one another! C’mon everybody, all the people, my goodness, we have so much to give. Captain Lanyard von Poppedcollar, kick off your sandals and grab an acoustic guitar – let’s go pick up some chicks. This is set at strange odds with the occasional twist of a knife, “once you crawl in / you never come back again” or “nobody will love you,” spoken more like a command than a concern.
Quick And Dirty: Portugal The Man is hell bent on wasting their time. (♦♦)
best indierecord of 2009