Point Line Plane
Point Line Plane
Xeroid
The easiest way to describe Point Line Plane’s self-titled debut would be to liken it to an old school Nintendo game soundtrack gone horribly awry. Think Castlevania’s theme being played through synthesizers with a baseball bat. Heaping graveyard organs on top of the grind of slaughterhouse synths and syncopated drumbeats, most of the album is a nerve-wracking, if somewhat nostalgic listen. Tracks like “Bat Chain Pusher”, “Code: Decode”, and “Open Yr Mindligt” adhere to this horrowshow minimalist formula and yield surprisingly catchy, almost danceable no-wave songs.
Unfortunately, the decision to include most of the vocals at distorted screamo levels on some tracks only serves to diminish their impact. “Death Dance 2000” and “Amp Has Killed Amp”, the two worst offenders, sound like sniping nasal-driven church ladies. I’m extremely thankful neither of these songs break the two minute mark.
As restitution for all marginal tracks, “8-Bit Graveyard” is the true highpoint of the album. Every creepy sound comes out of the charnel house and coalesces into a swaggering funeral dirge, complete with snarled lyrics that include lines like, “corpses come, corpses go” and “my body’s not a temple, it’s a laboratory.” It puts to shame everything fellow no-wavers, and Jack White coattail riders, Whirlwind Heat have ever done.
On “Open Yr Mindligt” the phrase “I want a masterpiece” is repeated over and over. For all its relative strengths, this album is not one. It’s flawed and ugly, but that’s not the problem. The music is near perfect, but a little less vocal gore would work wonders. In any case, I’ll be looking forward to the 16-bit upgrade of Point Line Plane the next time around.
Point Line Plane: http://www.pointlineplane.net/
