Parts & Labor - Constant Future

Having been a fan of Parts & Labor for years now, seeing them live in small and large venues, I was originally wowed by their powerfully thrown up walls of noise, their anthemic joyfulness of their experimental “noise rock”. But Parts & Labor seem to have raced to bring out album after album and in their last outings did not arouse the original excitement I experienced.

Well now they return with “Constant Future”, their fifth (or sixth) album and I can say it’s a triumphant return to form, no doubt about it, which makes me very happy indeed!

Working with Flaming Lips producer Dave Fridmann, they manage to keep the anthemic, rapturous building noise scapes but have opened out the sound in this new album so there is more space for the layers of noise to breathe. The album is altogether more considered but the trademark Parts & Labor is still there. I love the way B.J. Warshaw’s vocals are starting to sound like Roy Wood!

The guitar-like electronic noises full of harmonic distortion still ring out. Many of the songs are slower but all the better for it – they’ve worked on the sounds, on the vocal harmonies…and you could say that Parts & Labor are discovering emotions other than pure elation. An absolutely brilliant album.