The Bug Club
On the Intricate Inner Workings of the System
Sub Pop
First, much to the band’s consternation, I will begin by talking about their previous release, the magical Rare Birds: Hour of Song, which mixed very compressed indie rock bedroom symphonies with out-there interludes of poetry and prose. I bring it up to make the point that if you were expecting their major-label followup, the impressively-titled On the Intricate Inner Workings of the System (Sub Pop) to be more of the same, you will be disappointed. The composition of this album is more along the lines of your standard eleven songs in less than thirty minutes. But if you are seeking the same spirit of unbridled joy at the normalcy of everyday life, you will be well-pleased.
For this is The Bug Club’s knack: taking something that many of us consider mundane and not worthy of note, like loving war movies or sexual intercourse that’s just ok or the key change in that pop tune, and somehow wrapping it up in a guitar-bass-and-drums song you could be taught in a few minutes but which will stick around in your head for a lifetime. They don’t take anything too seriously, or at least only seriously enough for some lyrical wry observations, and you can’t help but nod along in agreeable agreement.
