Friday, February 15 2008 @ 12:00 AM PST
Contributed by: S:M:J63
Label: Badmaster Records United States
Genre: Psychedelic / Post-punk / Grunge
01 Controlled by Voices from Beyond
02 Children of the Unholy Cross
03 Among the Unborn
04 Psionic Sorcery Song
05 Justice for Tommy
06 Changing
07 Silver Fire
08 E.G.G. (Emerald Ghost Garden)
09 Dead Deer House
10 Cre(mate)
11 Asylum
12 National Anthem (For Birds)
Okay, there’s two things you should know – firstly, I am not much for listening to ‘conventional’ music these days, simply because a great deal of it is just simply regurgitated dullness while at the more commercial end it’s just pure unalloyed pap; secondly, and more importantly in the context of this review, that despite Northern Liberties’ music being quite conventional compared to the normal run of my musical tastes I have to say quite unequivocally that this is bloody excellent quality stuff from the quirky Philadelphia trio, starting right from the bright yellow six panel digipak decorated with vocalist & percussionist Justin Duerr’s striking naïve artwork (which continues on the interior with the exception of the band portraits) and on to the music itself. One of the more noteworthy aspects of their music is that they break away from the conventional band structure of guitar, bass and drums, relying on just percussion, drums and bass to build musical pictures of their strange and very much out-of-kilter universe.
It’s slightly shambolic and tinged with madness, but don’t let that fool you for one second – in reality sharpness defines everything on this album, from the tightness of the musicianship to Justin’s imaginative lyricism and poetic imagery. Taking some of the lyrical and unsettling surreality of the seventies’ psychedelic scene and marrying it to a post-punk grunge aesthetic, Justin, his brother Marc and bassist Kevin (no second name given) construct a driving behemoth of a musical vehicle imbued with energy and razor-sharp edginess. To top it all off Justin’s plaintive, nervy and asylum-inflected vocals are the perfect counterpoint to the drums- and bass-propelled backing framework, investing it with even more nervous electricity and lighting it all up with a neon-lit brightness. The world that Justin sings about is a disturbing, fuzzy, out of focus and more than slightly unhinged one, a place seemingly solely inhabited by interestingly pale gothic heroines, fortean phenomena, devil children and misplaced souls still looking for their owners.
Above all though, it’s that tension between the nervy vocal delivery and the dirty self-assured and self-confident powerhouse of the music that contributes to the deliciously electric shiver-inducing frisson of pleasure this album produces and is also the main reason why I like it so much. Personal favourites are ‘Controlled by Voices from Beyond’, ‘Children of the Unholy Cross’, ‘Psionic Sorcery Song’, ‘Changing’ and ‘Cre(mate)’ – absolutely perfect examples of what happens when the alchemy of words and music is handled by masters of the art.
In a world where the musical, cultural and aesthetic tastes of the many are seemingly dictated by the so-called music media and governed by the lowest common denominator it’s always a joy to come across those who are resolutely determined to swim against the tide, just like these folks are doing. What pisses me off most though is that these same people, who have genuine talent and ability in buckets, will never get to the top of the pile where they deserve to reside while the no-hopers get spoon-fed to the drooling glassy-eyed masses and passed off as the genuine article. Ah well, at least there are those of us who are more than discerning than the vast majority it seems….