Thursday, November 18, 2010

G&P Review: Quarter the Villain

Quarter the Villain
Regicide

Self Released

Tech death mongers Quarter the Villain pound hard out of the gate with “Frontier Justice,” slamming face first into a scream and horse gallop riff that slams together Gorod and Luddite Clone in a supercollider, unleashing intergalactic cannibal beetles to burrow subcutaneously.
Those bugs get a work out because Quarter the Villain have notes to burn. Like a lot of tech bands, they firmly believe one good note deserves another 25. The guitars seethe and tweedle in a way that seems all random at first but must be carefully constructed to be that chaotic. Belying its titular mammal, “Choking a Sloth” throws up a sparkling fountain of notes that burble and sing over mournfully bent counter points. Proving their fearlessness in the face of traditional musical boundaries, Quarter the Villain cross pollinate “Sock Puppet Vendetta” with a stately waltz propelled by strident horns and tinkling keys.
Like a lot of tech obsessed bands, Quarter the Villain are brimming with ideas, but actual songs sometimes get lost amid the noodling, particularly for someone like me whose tastes run to simpler pleasures. I think Quarter the Villain is one of those bands I respect more than I enjoy, but tech-heads may find something interesting to latch on to here.

[Full disclosure: QtV sent me a download. Meant to make that clear earlier.]

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