ERASE ERRATA
Nightlife
Kill Rock Stars
This reviewer will admit it. As much as I am a fan of political awareness, strange geeky bands and, well, women, I often have trouble swallowing Erase Errata's
bizarre angular rock. In theory this should be a band to put the milk in my latte: a
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group that adorns itself in odd stage gear (such as at a show at Albuquerque's Launchpad a few years back, when they glued large pieces of randomly shaped felt to their clothes); a group that encourages spazzy, uncool dancing; a group of Bay-area women who are not afraid. They are not afraid to play strange chords loudly and without apology, to sing in intense staccato freakouts, to emit loud trumpet blasts at the drop of a hat.
Thing is, the artistic, avant-garde dance/math rock that ensues from such fearlessness can be difficult to palate. It has been groundbreaking for sure, and emulated by weaker bands since, but Erase Errata's oeuvre has run the gamut, from great to grating.
That is, until
Nightlife
. Since EE's last output,
At Crystal Palace
, the band lost guitarist Sara Jaffe, and fans lamented the band would no longer sound as good. I hate to say it, but Jaffe's exit may be the best thing that could have happened.
Nightlife
is full of wack-ass hooks, as quirky as they come, but slightly more accessible than earlier recordings, accessible enough to put the "pop" back into "post-punk-feminist-queer-pop." Singer/guitarist Jenny Hoyston, drummer Bianca Sparta and bassist Ellie Erickson still don't pull any punches, but somehow they've managed to interweave a sweet listenability to the edge. Purists and hardcore fans may not dig it, but songs like "Hotel Suicide," with its high-pitched vocals and "Cruising," with its jagged punk guitar lines, balance cerebral songwriting with a downright visceral thread that was not always present before. Newcomers to Erase Errata will love this album, and something tells me old-timers will grow to love it too.
