Cerberus Shoal
Bastion of Itchy Peeves
Northeast
Bastion of Itchy Peeves is yet another excursion into weirdness for Cerberus Shoal, a band I once considered to be one of the rockin’est around. For you die-hard fans, this is actually a collection of music recorded before Chaiming the Knoblessone, back in 2001. It shows a very experimental Cerberus Shoal, and should probably be avoided by anyone who thinks these guys are still a Gravity Records-style screamo group.
For the most part, Bastion of Itchy Peeves reminds me of a cross between Radiohead’s more experimental stuff and recent Flaming Lips. All manner of bizarre instrumentation is fancied here: chimes, bells, xylophones, bass guitars, regular guitars, pianos, tribal drums and other weirdness. The album is predominantly slow and plodding, with vocals showing up maybe 25% of the time. The songs seem aimless and lost, yet they manage to flourish in their directionless wandering. This record makes for good background noise while reading. But I can’t honestly get into this stuff, as it’s just too weird and trippy.
Cerberus Shoal: http://www.cerberusshoal.com/
