Albums
Strange Weather, Isn't It? (Bonus Track Version)
2010
Genre: Alternative
Release Date: 2010
By Larry Fitzmaurice
Reviewed August 20, 2010
Warp's dance-rock lifers return to basics after the at-times ham-handed, at-times highly effective rockism of 2007's Myth Takes.
Yup, those big, bold, triple-declaratory exclamation points are back, coated in ice and all, on dance-rock lifers !!!'s fourth full-length, If it looks like the image is suggesting some sort of back to basics, it's because that's precisely what this record is, moving away from the at-times ham-handed, at-times highly effective rockism of 2007's and more closely evoking the stretched-out, worked-up grooves of the band's earlier efforts, most notably their 2004 Warp debut, . That frigid, dripping coating comes to define the record's sound as well, as the grooves here are chilly. Synth lines shiver and vibrate on top of dry, crackling drum hits. Frontman Nic Offer's vocals have sounded increasingly refined from on, and as such they're duskier here, as Offer takes on a window-fogging low register when he's not singing the straightforward hooks located on the record.