September 20th, 2011 1:00am
That’s Just Me
Gauntlet Hair “My Christ”
It seems like we’re only starting to come out of a phase of indie music dominated by excessive use of reverb, so it’s actually surprising to hear a band play around with those tricks and come up with something that sounds fresh. “My Christ,” one of the best and most tuneful tracks from Gauntlet Hair’s debut album, essentially sounds like a late 80s sort of INXS/Tears for Fears type song that has been pushed to a severe extreme without losing its shape and basic appeal. The distortions here don’t blur the composition – it’s rather sharp and dynamic – but they do sharpen up the treble and exaggerate the impact of the drumming. I get the feeling that a lot of people are going to sleep on this record, which is unfortunate: These guys are figuring out some interesting new angles on late 80s arena rock.
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