Death to Anders- Punctuate the Calamities

ARTIST: Death to Anders

ALBUM: Punctuate the Calamities

LABEL: Darsonic Symphonic Productions

REVIEWER: Matthew J.

DATE: 7-4-07

Los Angeles group Death To Anders wear their eccentricities on their sleeves; you can tell this is going to be a deliberately independent album just by the hand-made, twine-fastened cardboard sleeve it comes in. The music itself is just as whimsical; Rob Danson and Nick Ceglio's often-dissonant arrangements and nasal falsettos are intentionally off-putting much of the time. "Silverlake," much like the LA suburb it's named for, is kind of irritating and thinks it's a lot smarter than it actually is, while "Sad Part About America" stands out more for its dissonant chords than any actual musical structure. In spite of the oddball posturing, though, there's a lot to like on this CD. "Molasses" is twanging cowboy-inspired garage rock, charming for all its attempts to be charmless, and "Something Wrong With Me" shares the sort of plainspoken sadness that makes groups like The Eels so appealing. "The Fall" makes good use of the juxtaposition of quiet strums and blaring distortion, while album closer "Heavyweight" adopts a quiet folksy mood that serves as a bit of respite from the rest of the album's artiness. Though the band's musical excesses will be off-putting to fans of conventional harmony, Death To Anders have a noisy yet cheerful approach sure to endear them to the DIY pop crowd.

Visit the band on the Web at www.deathtoanders.com.