A.R.E. Weapons – Darker Blue (Music Review)
By Andrew Duncan • Jul 27th, 2010 • Category: Categories, Electronic, Indie Rock, Music Genres, ReviewsA.R.E. Weapons
Darker Blue
Defend
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Link: http://www.areweapons.com/
New York’s A.R.E. Weapons are back from a hiatus since 2007’s Modern Mayhem, and they are out for revenge or maybe just a little personal justice.
Spitting out words like they were Nick Cave, it’s a little too fanboyish to hear a song like “Jeffrey Lee” and think more about “Stagger Lee” and immediately realize that The Bad Seeds do it much better. “Don’t You Fucking Die On Me” continues that renegade behavior in storytelling form and although not bad, I cannot help but imagine Cave pulling the mic away, telling them how to do it right. Although this song encapsulates the New York grove better than the opener.
You hear the New York influences in Darker Blue from Television to Feotus to ZZZ, who do the psycho-sexual noir rock better. “Subway” is the closest homage to a Dead Milkmen song that I have heard, telling the tales of a cockroach riding the subway in Milkmen-ish humor writing fashion.
What A.R.E. Weapons are good at is instilling a paranoia within their synth-like rock structure, much like Trans Am does, but Darker Blue never goes that far. They take the same steps that Lydia Lunch takes, but this is not an ‘80s deconstructed New York environment, nor is it Warhol’s Trash. With that Darker Blue by default is diluted into the echoes of the past and the want to be on the fringe while never reaching either’s goals.
But in the context of A.R.E. Weapons, its one of the better albums they have put out.
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Andrew Duncan is a journalist who has migrated to the forces of academia. He has written for various publications including Chord, Heckler, Readyset...Aesthetic, and a vast array of alternative press contributions. When not roaming the streets of Indianapolis, he is either addicted to KXCI, making music, or striving to watch every film listed on IMDB.
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Hmmm, never really got any sort of Nick Cave influence at all. Really? ‘Jeffrey Lee’ is a Gun Club bio set to song. Its a homage to Jeffrey Lee and the great sound of the Gun Club.
This is the most underrated band going today. When the dust settles not many, if any, have made better records over the past ten years then A.R.E. Weapons. I could go on and on, but I’d rather you, the reader, find a copy of ‘Darker Blue’ and listen to it twice. And then again. And again. Ah ‘What the Fuck Do You Want!’.
A.R.E. Weapons reviews never quite seem to capture what it is that is so great about this band. And how leaps and bounds ahead of the game they continue to be.