There is a new ride at King's Island in Cincinatti called Delirium, it straps you and 49 others in around a wheel at the base of the swinging arm of a giant pendulum. The pendulum swings and the wheel spins. It's a simple idea, but the effect is delicious. It isn't jarring and doesn't appear as frightening as the big coasters, but it is fast and takes you high and the spinning wheel creates an experience that is completely new and completely delightful. This is exactly the feeling recreated for me when I played Gorrilas in the Fist for the first time, and the second time, and the third. A just under 26 minutes, the debut from Louisville trio Ultra Pulverize is, like a good ride, made for repeated plays. In fact, it can be played at least three times while waiting in line for some of the rides at King's Island, and it can handle many more consecutive plays if need be. If you want a more specific description I'll give it: poppin' fresh drum machine beats (played by hand, not programmed), ecstatic synth melodies, and grimy, staccato vocals by Ultra (Andrew Vititoe) that deliver the sweet sickness that is the hallmark of an Ultra Pulverize track. Comparisons have been made to Kraftwerk but fuck that. If Kraftwerk's music is anything it is clean and crisp, it float. They use similar instruments but Kraftwerk could never make anything that sounds so... diseased(in a good way, if that makes any sense). The German influence is clear—sometimes Ultra's vocals are eerily similar to speeches of Hitler's from The Triumph of Will and it is just as charming—but a German band could never produce something like this, something so nuanced between elation and spitting blood. Something this fun and twisted is a purely American creation. Though I'm not sure how the hell it came out of Kentucky. I'm from Louisville and, while the music scene there is bursting with all sorts of sounds, electronic punk(the category into which,technically, this falls) is not one with which I'm familiar, nor would I have had much interest in the genre if I had heard of it. But, in many ways, this band blows my mind. Take, for instance, “I'm on Wheels,” which in the first few measures sounds like the music that would play over the opening credits to a Footloose sequel but soon, very subtly, develops into a nonsensical but utterly joyous romp in the clouds. For the most part, I can't make much of the lyrics but the gibberish fits the rhyme structure so well that its hard to imagine that these phrases (“hear the noise/keep your poise/remember ultra steamin'/laser skin/hold it in/I'll try to kick the habit”) don't have any business in whatever context Ultra is spewing. The effect is something of a gestalt, something is being communicated that cannot be determined by looking at any of the verses by themselves. I'm sure this kind of incomprehensible songwriting can turn some people off but, the way I see it, this is exactly how music should work. Ultra Pulverize attacks the senses with senselessness and slip through something more substantial on a different plane. It should be beyond words and the interaction with the listener should be unconscious. As a result, Ultra Pulverize and I get along very well.
Peter Arnberg is a contributing editor for iHighMusic.com and a fine-looking man as well. When not listening, writing, or posting he enjoys laughing out loud. He lives in Lexington, Kentucky, with three plants named Tuco, Blondie, and Angel Eyes.
Track Listing 1. Venom Pants
2. That Book Was Written By A Maniac
3. Bloody Fannypack
4. Gorillas in the Fist
5. I Thought That I Was Dead
6. Ropadoperglittercubin'
7. I'm On Wheels
8. Scissors On Cigarettes
9. Book Fair Monday
10. Don Knotts Looks Like a Sock Puppet
11. Out of Bones
12. Ochweet Scally |
|
Email |
Print
