Pink Mountaintops - Axis of Evol
By: Tyler Watson | Category: Album Reviews | 02/21/06 | 02:12 PM
 |  |  Grade: A- | Genre: Indie Rock
Summary: Whenever anybody is asked to describe the music of Pink Mountaintops, they talk that it's all about sexing. All right cool, what music isn't? Calling them the band that likes sex is like saying Mick Jagger is the guy that likes tight pants. It might be the most noticeable aspect, but it isn't the only one.
The core of Pink Mountaintops is Stephen McBean. He has quite a history with heavy music (punk, goth, metal), and it bleeds through on Axis of Evol. Think of what you'd want to listen to if you were wrestling a crocodile or riding a Harley at night in the middle of nowhere. It's like that. It gets you pretty damn pumped. |
Axis of Evol starts with the song "Coma," which doesn't sound like the rest of the album but fits in well. It's a quiet song, made up of just an acoustic guitar and McBean's voice. The first line on the album is "I know I'm not headed down a highway to hell." Two minutes later, "Cold Criminals" comes chugging along and you feel like you're headed down a highway to hell on a freight train. This music sounds big. Think "big" like "huge." No matter how quiet you turn it down, you feel like your neighbors can hear it. Jagjaguwar seems to have a thing for this sound. So once that beast of a song is over with, "New Drug Queens" blindsides you. "Tell your mom you're gonna stay out late tonight." Ok. This is the one you'll be listening to in your car way too loud to be paying attention to the road. You'll drive too fast and sing too loud, but you won't care because you told your mom you're gonna stay out late tonight.
"Slaves" has a trippy guitar effect going and some really great lyrics, and you know what? Yeah, it sounds big. It sounds like a funeral dirge for King Kong or some equally massive and intimidating monster. Jesus, when I listen to this album in the car I feel like I'm driving a tank. "Plastic Man, Set Us Free" is a quieter song, which doesn't mean it's any less powerful. It's a song in a blues vein, and it sounds just raw enough and sloppy enough to be awesome. "Lord, Let Us Shine" is the strangest song here. It starts with what must be a drum machine, and for the first five seconds you think it could be an electronica song. Then the guitar and bass and McBean's voice come in, and you get scared again. "How Can We Get Free" is another quiet one, featuring McBean and a guitar and some choice sound effects. It sounds like it could be pretty damn old, but every once in a while you hear a beep or a whirr. Those little sounds take this from a good closing song to a great one.
Whenever anybody is asked to describe the music of Pink Mountaintops, they talk that it's all about sexing. All right cool, what music isn't? Calling them the band that likes sex is like saying Mick Jagger is the guy that likes tight pants. It might be the most noticeable aspect, but it isn't the only one. Other than the name of the band, none of this stuff is specifically about sex (at least not that I noticed). And it's the music, not the lyrics, that steals the show here. It's got a sound that feels worn-in enough to make you think that this is how music has always sounded. But when you try to make a comparison, everything just falls flat. It feels like blues, southern rock, voodoo chants, metal, and electronica. That should be enough to please anyone.
Release Date: March 7, 2006
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