Music Review: !!! - "Myth Takes"

As good of an album as !!!'s 2004 LP Louden Up Now is, there were some just complaints. Lyrically, the band seemed more interested in chants and rallies, focusing more on the music than the words. As for that music, when it was good, it was great ("Pardon My Freedom" and the sublime "Me and Rudy Giuliani Down by the School Yard (A True Story)," one of the best song titles of recent memory). But the number of songs that just fiddled (3 versions of "Shit, Scheisse, Merde"?) made on wonder if the band was running out of musical steam after their self-titled debut.

Fortunately, Myth Takes resoundingly puts that fear to rest. The album finds the band with a new musical purpose. Their music has greater depth, aided in great part by their more consistent use of guitars (hinted at in "Me and Rudy Giuliani..." but never fully fleshed out). They have expanded their sound beyond simple dance music and deep grooves, incorporating hints of psychedelia (the album-opening title track), piano-driven slow-burn ("Infinifold"), and even bizarro-world R&B ("Yadnus"), all while keeping intact the groove-based tunes and danceable music that made them such a big draw in first place.

As for the lyrics, well, they haven't changed that much. Sure, "Infinifold" touches upon loss and loneliness, but it's still mostly rally cries and chants. This doesn't make a bit of difference to me (as Erik will tell you - I'm a "music first, lyrics later (if at all)" kind of guy). That said, don't expect some new poetic revelation within the songs. Titles like "All My Heroes are Weridos" and "Bend Over Beethoven" are about as complex as they appear.

But that never was nor is the point with !!!. They are about having fun, and making some music that makes you want to move (though let's get rid of this stupid "dance-rock" categorization - man, I hate that term). Few bands can groove and rock quite like !!! can, and the expansion of their sound makes this a very fine album.

5 square glasses (out of 6).