xbxrx, Sixth in Sixes

xbxrx plays hardcore punk stuff crossed with some no-wave guitars, with lots of hardcore tempos and hyperactivity. The band likes to write lots of odd breaks into their songs, and the vocals range from shouting to screaming (from which they still wring a fair amount of variety). Overall, the band members put an impressive amount of work into their songs. They really like the part of the song where it gets quiet right before the dynamic change, and then they start and stop things when you’re not expecting it.

“Gold Cross” is a good example of their methodology: the song has six sections to it, separated by odd breaks. It starts off like their big rock song, but then moves through a dissonant rock section to a more straightforward punk section, a jagged instrumental, and a more dissonant punk part, and then goes back to the something that goes back to the third punkish section. That’s a lot of ideas to cram into a 1:52 song. And the textural variety keeps it all interesting.

The xbxrx folks also write more straightforward songs, as well. “Deceiver’s Voice” is very brutal and effective, for one; it’s a more straightforward hardcore punk song, a great Shellac-style track, with lots of dissonant, drone-y guitars (of course). “Beat Rolls On” sounds like their big anthem, with keyboards and stuff (reminds me of Deerhoof if set to “stun”), ’til they start a big atmospheric keyboard-driven bridge ending that sounds like it’s powering them up — cheesy but amusing.

All in all, an interesting effort. Definitely worth checking out.