Quips – Take Two

[genocide roach]

Quips – Take Two
Self Release – 2 Oct 2007
By Ryan Starr

I have to be honest here. When I first put this CD in, I was kind of confused. How can a band this soft be on the same label as Mouth of the Architect and Dysrhythmia. There aren’t any crunchy guitars, abstract riffs, or howling vocals anywhere to be found. But the more I listen, the more I realize that while they are stylistically different, atmospherically they share some common ground. There is some subtle dissonance mixed into their soft rock style. There is also a bit of experimentation with sound and non-traditional instruments.

Uniqueness aside, I just can’t get into this. One of my biggest complaints is with the vocals. I know they’re going for the whispery, insecure style. But I firmly believe that if you’re going to sing, you better do it properly. This approach to singing just annoys me to no end.

Another complaint I have is that the music is borderline cheesy, and not in the viking metal way that I really love. A good example would be the song ‘Cover Your Tracks’. It follows the classic 3 chord progression that every band has used since the dawn of rock music. Now maybe that’s what they were going for, in a satirical sort of way, but the end result really irritated me.

I’m sure there are some people out there who would enjoy this. Just don’t count me as one of them. I gave it a fair shake, but this is a no go for me.

Official Quips Myspace
Official Translation Lost Website

 

[BigFakeSmile]

I feel an absurdist need to comment on this 6 year old go nowhere thread because I absolutely love this album, which I don't believe went anywhere either. It's in my iPod so I revisit it often on shuffle. I used to be a journalist, and I got this as a promo and gave it an excellent review, in which I may have drawn some comparisons to other stuff I like with insecure vocals, like Elliot Smith. I am pretty sure this band went nowhere after this album. I don't think I could find a trace of them the last time I looked them up online. But this is a front to back listenable record with some very memorable songs. It's a great achievement that was received by the world like a penny in a fountain. But it got into my heavy rotation. The great indie rock bands in my mind are heavily influenced by the luck of the "what cds did I get to review" draw. I can think of a few bands that I really thought would catch fire and be indie darlings but who just didn't and Quips is one of them.