February 23, 2006

Voices is standard. The Confrontation jam winds up this midtempo jaunt that feels a little too “groovy” for my tastes. Notably, I think this is the first instance of Allen using thirst quenchers. I actually think this Crickets first jam is pretty solid. Not something I’d relisten to again, but well-played, and they’re actually able to remain (mostly) patient as they head toward the peak. Second Crickets jam is less interesting, although hearing them get more comfortable with the Confrontation peak with Allen is nice to hear. Mitts is standard. The Don jam almost sounds like a Tunnel jam, but maybe that’s just because part of Brownstein’s bassline sounds like Tunnel. In any event, if you like soaring Barber guitar riffs, this jam is probably something you’ll like. If not, maybe not so much.

Helix has a breakbeat jam, which is fine, but forgettable. Both the 7-11 and SJSS jams are pretty predictable jamming. The jam out of 7-11 into Liquid Handcuffs is fast-paced trance jamming, and Magner is using some nice gated patches that really make this seem even faster than it already is. Even though it feels like this gets a little out of control at times, I think this is worth relistening as the band is really locked in here and focused on this dark, psychedelic sound that would permeate 2007. Liquid Handcuffs has a long-ish drum and bass jam that falls flat to me. House Dog 1 is very solid, and features the band going from some “out there” electronic jamming to the House Dog middle peak very fluidly. The second jam is dark and psychedelic, and has a lot of great textural stuff from Allen and Magner. This is probably the most interesting jam of the year to-date, and again shows off the dark psychedelia that the band eventually locked into in the following year. IRW is standard.

Highlights: 7-11 (2), HDPF (1, 2*)