!!! – Strange Weather, Isn’t It?
Strange Weather, Isn’t It? is the fourth release from !!!, a Sacramento band formed from members of Black Liqourice and Popesmashers after the bands toured together. The songs on the album are saved from being a complete digital mess by Nic Offer’s vocals. It also helps to break up some of the monotony that is found on the album; for instance, I thought the looped drum intros to “AM/FM” and “The Most Certain Sure” sounded awfully similar.
Although !!!’s name suggests something inexplicably exciting, I didn’t get much of a thrill from Strange Weather, Isn’t It? Instead, its beats sounded pretty dated to me, like they were coming from the early ‘90s, but maybe the irony was just lost on me. “Even Judas Gave Jesus a Kiss” was a highlight for me because its catchy hook was able to catch my attention among the rest of the sounds on the album. The song builds up and gets progressively trippier towards the end. Yet, perhaps Strange Weather, Isn’t It? and its genre just isn’t my cup of tea. I could see aficionados of dance and electronica getting something out of it and enjoying !!!’s catalogue.
(Warp Records, no address provided)
I’d have to emphatically disagree with the review. Dated? Monotonous? It sounds like this just might not be the genre for the critic in question, but for anyone who’s followed !!! and OutHud, it’s worth picking up.
!!! has always been about moving ass on the dance floor. They certainly don’t fail on the first half of the record, and the second half, while more spacey and even somber, is well worth a listen, too. Looking forward to the band’s tour – these will sound great live.
Thanks for the comment Andrew. I have to say you’re right, the genre isn’t exactly my thing. In my mind, some parts of the album sounded dated and I didn’t really find too much diversity in it. But again, I don’t have too much experience with !!! or this music. That’s why at the end I said fans of the genre would probably find something to like in it. I’m glad you did.