Album Review: !!! - As If
By Eli Schoop, Copy Editor [Warp; 2015]
Rating: 2/5
Key Tracks: “Freedom! '15,” “Funk (I Got This)”
Mid 2000s alt music was a weird time. The era where the '80s were in a constant revival and New York was the perpetual center of the universe, and gave birth to the most oddly named indie band of the decade, !!!. A dance-punk outfit from Brooklyn, !!! was among the cutting-edge yet is now behind the times, just like the word “hipster” if you were so inclined to describe them as such. It's frankly unbelievable how these guys are on a platform such as Warp, beside such auteurs as Battles and Aphex Twin when their unchanging template from 2005 has been showcased on such a unique record label.
To be fair, As If is at its best when the band just throws all the cliches out the window. “Freedom! '15” is a fun romp into disco yet lacks the vitality of such masters like Inner Life and Loleatta Holloway that make the genre so life-affirming. “Funk (I Got This)” has the same sort of pep that isn't present throughout the rest of the LP. It's evident there's a lack of inspiration that drove fans to the outfit in the first place, yet !!! gets enough press coverage to warrant attention and another release.
Concerning the album, it's a poor effort and you shouldn't care for it. But because it's so all-consuming in its mediocrity, from the weird, semi-quirky album art to the pithy, same-sounding songs all around, As If brings it to a new level of yawn-inducing bargain bin material that's personally offensive.
