REVIEW: Shooting at Unarmed Men
If Shooting at Unarmed Men are dogged with comparisons with their bassist’s old band, chaotic post-punks Mclusky, they d not seem to be trying very hard to avoid them. While the stark guitar parts and the sing-sing-shout vocal formula are present and correct from the start, there is none of Mclusky’s trademark wit to make these songs stand out.
Lyrics like “you fucking tool”, and “fuck our discipline” do not manage to make the uninventive riffs and predictable drumming they accompany any more interesting, and the repetitive structures that might have worked in shorter songs become a bit strained after four minutes.
There is not a great deal of variety in Yes! Tinnitus! The down-tempo interlude of Put Yourself on the Proverbial may provide a pause for thought, but is really just another typical Shooting at Unarmed Men track played at half the speed. That is not to say that the album does not have its interesting moments. Girls Music may stick to the same Pixies-esque formula, but the contrast between the soft and the downright frenzied is great enough for it to work.
In-flight Instructions Are a Joke • Say I combines dirge-like, restrained vocal harmonies with sinister lyrics to make something surprisingly subtle. This final track fades into noises which could either be a cassette rewinding or the soundtrack to a Nintendo game, then, in the place of a hidden track, the entire album begins to play all the way though again.
Rather than listening to it all for a second time, though, you would be better off going out and finding a Mclusky album.
18th May 2006