Scott Irvine
06/10/07, 12:47 AM
Look Mexico - This is Animal Music
Released July 10th, 2007
Lujo Records
A hearty laughter erupts among each of the friends as they anticipate sharing what adventures the day brought them -- a kidnapping, subsequent car chase, and trek through the woods of Oregon where the desperation to rescue the loved one brought them into the middle of nowhere and back. And CUT! Copout, right? In this case an evasion of putting any real effort into an end, or the means of getting there. I'd be wasting time pointing out examples in music, movies, reviews (http://www.decoymusic.com/index.php?content=reviews&reviewid=22680&oldreview=0), etc., but something edgy lies in bringing them to light. We all see/hear it, choose not to accept it, and tag it in our various profiles as a "favorite" regardless. Any band with a good chunk of time and decent musical comprehension can formulate a catchy tune, maybe even several. Fuck, let's say an album's worth. But the next release will invariably be the same thing. And the next. An album, at it's best though, captures a time, a place, or an essence of something worthwhile. Yet, subconsciously perhaps, we continue to pick the dingleberries of the any number of growing trends we're likely to, at some point, adhere to. What's the median between worthwhile and not? To get a good idea, perhaps take a listen to This is Animal Music.
Look Mexico got a fair amount of attention with last year's The Crucial EP; gathering a multitude of American Football comparisons and congratulatory words on their mathy instrumentation. I think it's healthy, though, that they've stepped out of the former sidenote's shadow this time around. They still follow the code of grace in the midst of things, but it seems like they've branched out more into Minus the Bear territory than anything. The album is quite a range of ideas and styles seeing themselves out as fast as they are introduced, though. You'll gravitate towards the middle of the album if you're like me and constantly evolving math-rock is your thing, but the bookends of Animal Music seem to be more fluent in emotion and the laid-back instrumental approach compliments the venture.
It's just at some points I was unsure of what Look Mexico wanted to accomplish with the album. I mean, "You Come Into My House, While I Sleep?" sets the stage as if the guys have taken a turn towards a Daphne Loves Derby-like composure, but "Watch Out For This" reaffirms an aberrant affiliation with somewhat technical structures. Some songs even begin or end with clips from what seems to be a misguided radio show discussing "life pass" or something of the sort. It's inclusion is questionable, but the way it humorously showcases the two talking using a desperate measure to come to know themselves is perhaps a better way of getting things across than the actual lyrics. However, songs like "You Ever Get Punched in the Face for Talking Too Much" pushes the band's lyrical excellence hard, and is one of Animal Music's most enlightening songs because now, mid-album, there's this sense that the band is finally revealing themselves in an uncharacteristically simple song structure. And while the latter is all fine and well, you'll be coming back to This is Animal Music for it's instrumentation, as stressed earlier. Like The Crucial EP, there's room on the album for an instrumental. Enter "Comin' In Hot With a Side of Bacon", which stripped down to it's skivvies is just a slightly poppier El Ten Eleven concoction with a gang cheer.
The Crucial EP, in retrospect, is a superbly executed release and probably a better showcase of the band's within-reach mainstream appeal. While the vocals this time around are crisper and perhaps the only intermediary between the quirky guitars and precise rhythm section, the EP just had an "in your face" effect that you came out of the album better because of. Animal Music is basically the EP with a tuxedo t-shirt and a cigar; you don't know which to take seriously as a good representation of character, but somehow the two mix into an understandable pair. You'll find Look Mexico has some great ideas presented nicely on This is Animal Music, but in the end it doesn't really do anything for you. Like an M. Night Shyamalan flick, it's got twists and turns, but in the end it's just...there. It's perhaps too long of an album for it's own good. It churns and swells with some startling moments along the way, but I think it gets a little stretched thin. That, my friends, is why this album is between both worlds; the trend-conscious accessibility and the make-Pitchfork-proud intricacy. But either way, just take it for what it is because it's one of this summer's best.
Released July 10th, 2007
Lujo Records
A hearty laughter erupts among each of the friends as they anticipate sharing what adventures the day brought them -- a kidnapping, subsequent car chase, and trek through the woods of Oregon where the desperation to rescue the loved one brought them into the middle of nowhere and back. And CUT! Copout, right? In this case an evasion of putting any real effort into an end, or the means of getting there. I'd be wasting time pointing out examples in music, movies, reviews (http://www.decoymusic.com/index.php?content=reviews&reviewid=22680&oldreview=0), etc., but something edgy lies in bringing them to light. We all see/hear it, choose not to accept it, and tag it in our various profiles as a "favorite" regardless. Any band with a good chunk of time and decent musical comprehension can formulate a catchy tune, maybe even several. Fuck, let's say an album's worth. But the next release will invariably be the same thing. And the next. An album, at it's best though, captures a time, a place, or an essence of something worthwhile. Yet, subconsciously perhaps, we continue to pick the dingleberries of the any number of growing trends we're likely to, at some point, adhere to. What's the median between worthwhile and not? To get a good idea, perhaps take a listen to This is Animal Music.
Look Mexico got a fair amount of attention with last year's The Crucial EP; gathering a multitude of American Football comparisons and congratulatory words on their mathy instrumentation. I think it's healthy, though, that they've stepped out of the former sidenote's shadow this time around. They still follow the code of grace in the midst of things, but it seems like they've branched out more into Minus the Bear territory than anything. The album is quite a range of ideas and styles seeing themselves out as fast as they are introduced, though. You'll gravitate towards the middle of the album if you're like me and constantly evolving math-rock is your thing, but the bookends of Animal Music seem to be more fluent in emotion and the laid-back instrumental approach compliments the venture.
It's just at some points I was unsure of what Look Mexico wanted to accomplish with the album. I mean, "You Come Into My House, While I Sleep?" sets the stage as if the guys have taken a turn towards a Daphne Loves Derby-like composure, but "Watch Out For This" reaffirms an aberrant affiliation with somewhat technical structures. Some songs even begin or end with clips from what seems to be a misguided radio show discussing "life pass" or something of the sort. It's inclusion is questionable, but the way it humorously showcases the two talking using a desperate measure to come to know themselves is perhaps a better way of getting things across than the actual lyrics. However, songs like "You Ever Get Punched in the Face for Talking Too Much" pushes the band's lyrical excellence hard, and is one of Animal Music's most enlightening songs because now, mid-album, there's this sense that the band is finally revealing themselves in an uncharacteristically simple song structure. And while the latter is all fine and well, you'll be coming back to This is Animal Music for it's instrumentation, as stressed earlier. Like The Crucial EP, there's room on the album for an instrumental. Enter "Comin' In Hot With a Side of Bacon", which stripped down to it's skivvies is just a slightly poppier El Ten Eleven concoction with a gang cheer.
The Crucial EP, in retrospect, is a superbly executed release and probably a better showcase of the band's within-reach mainstream appeal. While the vocals this time around are crisper and perhaps the only intermediary between the quirky guitars and precise rhythm section, the EP just had an "in your face" effect that you came out of the album better because of. Animal Music is basically the EP with a tuxedo t-shirt and a cigar; you don't know which to take seriously as a good representation of character, but somehow the two mix into an understandable pair. You'll find Look Mexico has some great ideas presented nicely on This is Animal Music, but in the end it doesn't really do anything for you. Like an M. Night Shyamalan flick, it's got twists and turns, but in the end it's just...there. It's perhaps too long of an album for it's own good. It churns and swells with some startling moments along the way, but I think it gets a little stretched thin. That, my friends, is why this album is between both worlds; the trend-conscious accessibility and the make-Pitchfork-proud intricacy. But either way, just take it for what it is because it's one of this summer's best.