Parts & Labor: New Review + Tonight!

No time right now to run down the whole list of awesomely awesome shows going on this weekend — gotta go greet the wife’s cousins, in town from little-bitty Soderfors, Sweden — but I’ve got to mention this one… Tonight (Friday, Nov. 7th), NYC noisemakers Parts & Labor are making their third stop through Houston in what seems like the last year-and-a-half, and hot damn, this time I’ve got to fucking see them play, even if it means ditching the Swedes.

Partly why I need to hear this band asap is, well, they keep freakin’ changing on me. Mapmaker was more coherent and less crazed that Stay Afraid, yeah, but Receivers, the band’s newest, takes off in a whole other, Secret Machines-esque direction (think Spiritualized or Medicine, and you’ll be close), throwing the poppier, more melodic stuff up front and relaxing a bit on the noise assault.

Now, yes, I was a little nervous about the change, but after listening repeatedly to Receivers and letting it seep into my brain, I, too, have officially drunk the New P&S Kool-Aid. These folks are apparently badass no matter what the hell they decide to do, and I’m happy to hear that they’ve not dropped the fist-pumping anthems but are now broadcasting them to the skies. Check out first single “Nowheres Nigh” if you need proof.

(You can also check out “Fractured Skies” & “A Great Divide”, off Mapmaker and Stay Afraid, respectively, and do a little historical comparison-type thing, should you so choose.)

At any rate, I’ve got a full review of the disc up here, for those who read things, and for those who’d prefer just to experience it live, well, tonight you definitely can. Parts & Labor are playing up at Walter’s on Washington (doors at 8:30PM, I believe, and tickets for $10), alongside former H-towners and heavy-as-hell people UME and cool local supergroup Black Congress.

Oh, and while it may be a little late for tonight, the band’s got a number you can call to leave a message (or whatever), a sample of which they may incorporate into their stage show later on down the road. Sweet. See y’all there…