Antique Curtains - "Dressed in Vertigo"

Antique Curtains - Uni-bomber (Makeshift/O.K. Stars 2008)

Antique Curtains - Dressed in Vertigo / Makeshift/O.K. Stars

Birthed from a city that is well known for its early contributions to rock n' roll, Memphis quartet Antique Curtains are continuing a tradition that extends throughout the last quarter of the 20th century. Their own brand on rock n' roll, honed over a full-length (2005's Unknowing and Driving) and an EP (2006's The Renaissance), treads some awfully noisy territory that makes it one of the year's loudest records so far.

"They Can Rebuild Us, Bradley" wastes no time getting to this point. What sounds like the distorted quack of a duck (or any adult from a "Peanuts" cartoon) blows in and all of the sudden the listener is caught up in a swell of shredding guitar noise, windchimes, electronic digitalis, and brash drumming. For a good 30 seconds you're as lost as a newbie as a Silver Daggers show, and then the crescendo drops out completely to reveal what sounds like a leftover Pixies lick. Another half a minute later and the distortion is in overdrive for the very electric-sounding guitars. Mike Bibbs, one half of the original duet that made up the band in its early days (alongside drummer Greg Faison), has a falsetto muddied by echoes and the sheer volume of the music. It's chaotic and busy and it's just the first song of a baker's dozen that comprise Dressed in Vertigo.

One of the touchstones of the sound, then, has already been identified. Despite press releases citing The Fall, Pere Ubu, Devo, and Mudhoney, initial listens reveal an easy comparison to the hallowed Boston indie-rockers so many strive to emulate. Comparing a band to the Pixies is like saying they make rock music - the comparison has been so worn out by lazy journalists in the past decade that it is trivial to list them as an influence - but in this case the comparison is merited largely through the length of the songs (which often hover around the three-minute mark) and the loud-quiet-loud dynamic the Pixies have made so famous.

A third influence is also at play here. In the best traditions of Bossanova, Antique Curtains are also looking west for answers in the surf. Surf-rock of the 60s, that is. The quickly strummed melodies at play on "Uni-bomber" demonstrate this most obviously, but the basic play and simply straightforwardness of "Fix Me, Jesus, I'm Shattered" also harken back to a simpler time. It is doubtful any surf-rock bands ever sounded this cranked out to eleven, but Antique Curtains offer an alternative history. This one just happens to be wired through pedals and knobs twiddled all the way right.

Speaking of wired, though they've been compared to UK post-punk most often, the moment is rare when an influence like Wire is audible. Maybe you can hear it in the lighter moments of "Construction Worker" or the stomping intro and foreboding of "I'm Possessed." Generally, the tribal drumming of something like "Photoshoot" takes precedent. Put it this way: If Wire were less into sexually repressive, soberly progressive art and more into sexually liberated SoCal hedonism, Dressed in Vertigo gives a good idea of what the alternate-universe Pink Flag would've sounded like.

In short, Antique Curtains are less for the cerebral and more for the out-and-out rocking among you. The record release for this party was at the end of October last year, but it's a struggle to find much press about the album if you are only into cursory scouring. For being such Memphis locals, this band deserves more attention for their aggressive take on surf. Easy to groove to, easy to freak out to, easy to love: Dressed in Vertigo is a refreshing rocker sure to shake you out of your snowboots just in time for the sunny spring.