Parenthetical Girls
Safe As Houses
Slender Means Society
At the risk of being called an insensitive male chauvinist, I’ll stick my neck out and say this is one of the most whiney, annoying records about menstruation I’ve every heard. The tone is set with the opening line “There’s blood between my legs…” above a minimal, yet grinding backdrop of chimes and drums. There’s no sense of irony, just a fairly frank retelling of a faltering romance. “I Was the Dancer” follows in a cloud of fuzzed guitar and monotonous drumming that reminds me of the less listenable parts of Captain Beefheart. The theme carries on for 10 songs, each cut a fresh exploration of minimal music where the parts left out are the parts you would want to hear. Sort of like getting the carcass, but not the turkey.
Clearly, someone thought there is a need for this sound, as the Parenthetical Girls have a previous release (((GRRRLS))) Yes, they used triple parenthesis in the title, but hey, it’s a free country. I like women, but this disc may force me to make a few more exceptions than I planned.
Sleep Op: http://www.sleepop.com
