Monday, March 16, 2015

Negative Scanner "Pastel Blue, Clinical White" on Tall Pat Records


Tall Pat knew when Negative Scanner's debut single was released on Trouble in Mind a while back that he'd have to get in on releasing more of this great stuff. The Benevolent Order of Chicago Record labels got together at one of their meetings and handed him masters from the same session as the TIM release so we'd now have an EP worth of material from the Chicago four piece.

A-Side's "Pastel Blue, Clinical White" doesn't waste a split second on this one to launch into their jagged drum and guitar post punk reminding me of Brilliant Colors, Mika Miko or Swimsuit. Rebecca matches the frantic rhythm cycles with her jittery delivery emphasizing off syllables but keeping things smooth. This is most definitely a raw and fast punk sound though that strips things down to a loose double jangle but still has all that attitude and precision. I think this has to do with hospital scrubs. An impressively complex for a minute and a half. I have to respect a band that says, "That's the exact right length for that song, we got all the verses in there - done."
B-Side's "A.W.O.L." - They nail these openings to the point I think I dropped the needle in an already in progress track. The four of them work with a Nothing People sort of psych groove for what's an eternity for the track length. Obviously they take their time waiting for the right moment for Rebecca who's now channeling Bikini Kill. She's just a fantastic vocalist, made for this kind of platform and absolutely making their sound unique.

Get this from Tall Pat, it's not going to be around long.

Live version of A-Side below, courtesy Acidjacknyc:

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