The Larroquettes - Quartet Loser - Even in our somewhat extended hibernation and overall malaise as an actual functioning record label, we couldn't help but notice that the Larroquettes seem to be getting a good deal of "pub" and/or "buzz" as of late in the Chicago area. And considering they were nice enough to send us this CD almost a year ago, we thought we'd chime in on the love parade since it is pretty damn good.
These Larroquettes sound like a stripped-down progression of lead guitarist Paul Downs previous project, the Plastik Explosives (truth be told, there may have been couple of sonic stops before this band, but let's not split hairs). And by "stripped-down", that's not meant to imply simpler or more boring, but rather more focused and kinda angrier. Still the rock'n'roll based skronk and guitar hot-shottery you'd expect from Mr. Downs, but not all at breakneck speed.
As for particulars, "Dr. Teacher" has a bass line that is every bit as swaggeringly sinister as it's title would suggest. Or maybe that's just me. I mean, for some reason, "Dr. Teacher" as a song title kind of creeps me right the fuck out. But regardless of whether or not that juxtaposition of words, creeps YOU out, the song has a killer bass line. "You Must Fight to Live On the Planet of the Apes" is an appropriately primitive sounding rocker and "You Gotta Believe in Something" ups the tempo a little bit and caps the disc off right by letting all the Larroquettes shake their proverbial things.
All in all, a damn fine introduction to the band that makes you want to hear more. And according to their website, more you shall hear as they may be in the studio AS I TYPE THIS! Oh, and bonus points for a movie-clip lead-in before one of the songs where the term "jerk-off" is used as an adjective and a noun about 5 times in rapid succession, but interestingly, not as a verb. (www.thelarroquettes.com)
