Playing an unique mixture of experimental rock, punk and noise, Parts & Labor were always a safe source to expect the unexpected, but with their fourth full-length album "Receivers", they have really outdone themselves. After "Mapmaker" and its rhythmic cataclysms in 2007, their new sound has now turned into a big and insanely anthemic affair to hear at full-volume, hands-in-the-air. Depending less on the frantic rhythmic section, this time the focus is more on, uh, where to start? Frankly, it's almost impossible to discern everything that happens in here, with so many layers of expansive sounds juxtaposing themselves and demanding for our attention as if our life depended on that. Pulsating guitars compete with spiraling keyboards, twisted electronics and driving drums and bass, while even ZX Spectrum sounds or a bagpipe (!) can be heard, all immersed in a torrent of hair-raising noise. Such a dense approach, with so many multi-layered sonic elements put together, would be inconsequential, were it not for the fact that they exist for what seems like the ultimate reason: to support uplifting major-key melodies, taking each song to a higher-than-life state of glorious celebration. (8/10)
Parts & Labor - Nowheres Nigh (mp3):
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