Who knew that such an exciting and promising musical force was sitting right across the border from me? After hearing so much about this band and being severely disappointed when they postponed their Omaha show (and still haven't made it up), I was glad to finally get my hands (figuratively) on their newest album. In all its underproduced glory, "This is the Way to Rule" wins over any discriminating post-punk fan from the first rolling drumbeat in "Hands off the Merch." Listening to this album sort of feels like crossing a musical intersection, where comfortably whiny and barely audible vocal motorcycles and fuzzy Fugazi-esque guitar imports fly past your right side, while quick tempo change sedans and rickety bassline pickups blindside you from the other. Make no mistake, both will disorient you in the most pleasant way possible. It's hard picking my favorites on this album, because I love saying every title and it might be a bit biased towards the more hilarious titles like "I Will Seriously Pay You to Shut Up" and "This Isn't Heaven, This Sucks." Rest assured, though, every track on this album is absolutely solid and you will listen to them hundreds of times over.
Upon listening to this in a moving automobile with my father, he was quick to inform me that the singer of this band sounded like vocalist of The Murder City Devils. I have no idea what he was talking about. Ten Grand manages to give off a raw sounding vibe without playing very simple music, which I'm sure is a combination of held back sobbing vocals and desperate sounding chord structures. This is also a very nice progression from the earlier recorded material under the band name The Vidablue. They didn't go from pop punk to grindcore in terms of playing something radically different, it sounds like they just got better and were able to convey what they wanted to earlier. The best track on this ditty is "This Isn't Heaven, This Sucks", which made me realize that this album had remnants of Fugazi. Back to this amazing song; it starts off with a few notes, then drops suddenly, as if you just arrived to find out some bad news. Then slowly it begins to build up with rock solid beats, whilst one guitar repeatedly played one chord at the same moment the other guitar weaved in and out of the structure in the background shadows. By the end, everything gets thrown together for a fresh fruit salad. It's nice to know that Iowa could produce both Slipknot and Ten Grand, a clue to a possible future world tour even. Good for rainy days and when your livejournal isn't working.
Ten Grand (formerly The Vidablue) are definately an acquired taste. Hearing their stuff before I thought it was just alright. Nothing to go nuts over. After seeing them live, my outlook on them changed drastically. I gave them a second chance and found out I had been kidding myself. This new record is no different.
I suppose you could classify Ten Grand as one of those "screamo" bands you hear so much about these days. Ten Grand manages to fit more emotion into their music than almost every one of those other "screamo" bands you hear about though. The singer sings with such a cry that you have to feel for the guy. There is such a rawness to the music that just adds to the vocals. The hollow sound of the drums in particular sound as if they were recorded in a big empty room.
The song titles don't take on the seriousness as the music does, and provide entertainment on their own. With songs such as "I Will Seriously Pay You To Shut Up", "Hands Off the Merch", and "Fuck You Guyses Teams", you'll find yourself chuckling to yourself upon reading them the first time.
Although there isn't a song I can really call dissapointing on this record, I definately can't say that any of them hold a candle to "Fuck You Guyses Teams." Without a doubt, this is my new favorite song by this band. The use of the rim by the drummer is a nice touch. They manage to fit the essence of the record into this 3 minute piece.
One of the best releases this year? Probably not. A great cd to get nonetheless. You'll get more than your fair share of play out of it.
