Party Trick by Assembly

For fans of Squid, Yowie, Asia Menor, garage rock, and that stage of a panic attack when you’re trying to convince yourself that no such panic attack is happening, Party Trick by Assembly whips old-school post punk aesthetics into an experimental frenzy, creating a fast-paced, frantic sound fantasizing about escape while remaining uncomfortably caged in the present. Chirping guitar leads reminiscent of classic rock and roll contort into dissonant chords and melodies, bolstered by a blanket of distorted backups which chug along in harmonies most typically found in the more aggressive modes of noise rock. Acrobatic bass lines call to mind classic post punk, but a further dissection of their countermelodies reveals an approach which extends beyond the jagged style of that genre, descending into pure dissonance to compliment guitars dedicated to violating expectations. With the addition of extreme vocal delivery and abstract, anxious lyrics, a complete picture forms of a speaker under extreme duress, a state with no escape whose only means of recourse arrives in the form of such hair-raising art.