**Northside Fest** These are Powers at Death by Audio -6-12-09

These are Powers are evolving.

They also screened their video last night for 'Easy Answers' from All Aboard Future. It was full of forest, candlelight ritual and symbols of consumption. Anna is dressed in a jumpsuit and sunglasses holding a boombox crouched down singing into the camera....looking very hip hop. She's singing now, in the classical sense, snarling more...getting sexy.

There's a different feel for this band compared to a year ago, Anna's dressed in sequins, clearly comfortable with her lead position in the Powers, talking with the crowd and throwing balls of tin foil and coiled cables. It's a confident TAP, they mentioned their recent tour through China and I have to imagine this has something to do with their more dance centric performance. Everything performed was from All Aboard Future (which is missing Cockles, their greatest song) which is more electronic, less experimental. On a purely musical level it's a different direction...embracing the 4/4 rhythms, the handclap and leaving the sinister ghost-punk behind. There's a heavier focus on the live performance, the bass beats and Anna's vocals, which used to be another instrument, tribal and dangerous, not breathy dance phrasing... nearly hip hop.

Bill Salas is amazing at managing to achieve a balance between the electronic and analog. Bringing the thunderous bass shaking machine kicks with cymbals, or conga. They undeniably move the crowd and Powers are clearly loving the reaction... Anna is a force, a real presence....but it felt friendlier and more accessible. They are an impressive live band, and have come up with a compelling composite of experimental primitive dance, but they've changed up their own rules, nearly thrown out the old formula and are on to moving more and more crowds.

These are Powers on Army of bad luck records

These are powers just had this massive record release party at secret project robot, which I unfortunately missed. I think it was like last Friday...I've really been appreciating Terriffic Seasons lately, it really is going exactly where I want this kind of thing to go. They combine the best of everything that I want. The experientalism of High Beams / Racoo-oo-oon /
with the post minimal rock of The Fall or something...or Prinzhorn Dance school...shit what happened to those guys...that was going somewhere really interesting and/or annoying.

These are Powers are just unbelieveable live, like the headlining band that finally goes on after a couple of good acts but they just destroy every thing that came before them. They literally sabotage the other bands because it's so fucking good. It's overwhelming...a real religious experience, the trance drumming and Anna wailing, it's nothing I would ever expect to enjoy so much. It can seem so experimental that I expect it to be work, but I end up enjoying every minute in a really repeatable way.

Army of Bad Luck brought the 7 inches world the SIDS single and Diet Cola, who both pioneered synth punk as far as I'm concerned, they were the precursor to Blank Dogs, Dead Luke etc.
They also really have great sleeve designs and printing...the offset Diet Cola 7" is beautiful...all metallic...a few passes...it's a keeper.

I know I have to have this based on the A-Side, but I'm curious about the creeping nobodies side.
After listening to their myspace...it really fits with where These are Powers are going. They are reminding me of that minimal post punk as well...like Pylon or Love of Diagrams, but working with more polyrhythms...in that experimental way. This might actually be closer to Young Marble Giants then Powers actually...

These are Powers latest full length, is available on SC distro.

Army of Bad Luck says:
These Are Powers / The Creeping Nobodies Split 7" - 2 songs w/cd-r containing "Creeping Powers" mash-up by brenmar. Hand-screened covers. Clear Vinyl. $4.50 + $2 s&h (in u.s.)

That's kind of perfect...the mashup / remix is on the CD-R. That's where they belong...not on the vinyl. I'll probably listen to them and appreciate it, but I'm glad it's not the B-side.

Podcast EP45...

We play Fugazi, the Furniture single...More Matt...Molly brings Fugazi into the mix, I tell my Nodzzz 7" story again. Molly drops a bomb with a discovery of Smiths singles at Permanent records. Matt makes fun of me, I turn his mic off. He calls me a Republican. Good Times. We're far too drunk to make any sense. Matt reminisces about seeing Fugazi, and June of '44. We play Ty Segall's new one from Chocolate Covered. Matt loves the cover and tries to breakdown my obsession with shitgaze. He's the devil's advocate. I try to explain my position, but I have to say, I'm in no state to do so. This does not count.