Rank / Xerox came highly recommended to me by Eric of La Corde. I ordered his band’s 7” and asked if there was anyone else I should check out in his neck of the woods. He rattled of a handful of bands I didn’t know, so I went and dropped some money. The same day my physical copy of the excellent La Corde 7” showed up, Rank / Xerox’s three-song, self-titled EP arrived and it has essentially taken over my life since it showed up 4 days ago, pushing aside all other new music until I could somehow get a grip on what it is that I’m hearing.

I still don’t exactly know, I feel that I lack the context to properly appreciate this band on any sort of intellectual level, though I’m certain I could throw together a “post-this, post-that, with a surprising bouquet of X,Y and Z” review but that wouldn’t really do anyone any favors, not the band, not those who desperately need to hear it, and certainly not myself.

The first song, “Basement Furniture” is a jangly discordant guitar and shared vocals just out of my ability to distinctly understand the lyrics, but the percussive nature and interplay between the two voices complements the forward push of the rhythm section.

It sounds like some hidden artifact from 1979 uncovered, sort of the same way that Airfix Kits does. Whereas Airfix Kits is more street, more pop, Rank / Xerox is dark, but not brooding, not mopey. Less petulant teenager, more cynical urban dweller.

But what does it SOUND LIKE? Gang of Four meets The Fall and my face meeting a wall for even typing that. Even this Ur-Pitchfork descriptor does nothing but discount what Rank / Xerox does.

Let’s move on.

“In A Hole” keeps the same guitar tone but drops the harshness of it as it explores a modern cascading sequences of notes and down beat fanned nearly minimal style, as the bass moves forward to take control of the track, with everything subjugated to its pervasive hegemony.

As the three and a half minutes of Side A wind down, and you think you have a handle on what this band is about, you flip it over, and you are resoundingly mocked.

Side B is two tracks that are intertwined to be one entity. It’s faster, rougher, and has a buzzed tone that will cut your skull in half and poke it’s fingers into your brain just to see you twitch in time. As this assault, “Making,” winds down “Confessions” begins its engine rev of a song as effects and electronics kick in and it feels like being trapped in an alleyway as you’re attacked by a motorcycle gang. There’s tension and decay in the simple, deadly structure of the whole song.

Rank / Xerox’s Rank/Xerox is available now from the band’s own record label and I cannot say enough good things about it. So far this year, it’s a singular slice of art tainted damaged music.

Category : album Review