The Causey Way: Causey Vs. Everything

Alternative Tentacles Records

Synth-dominated meth-rock with a lineup boasting cats from Astroman, the Rock-A-Teens, and ex-pro skateboarder Scott Stanton. But that's not all, as for name-dropping: the Boredoms, Devo, the B-52s, and Australian electro-noise gods Thug all figure into influence stew here.

Banks of shitty old synths buzz away to frenzied beats and Jetsons-era arrangements, and there isn't a bum track on this thang until “Ane Caelo,” which sounds like Paul McCartney's “Mull of Kintyre” with a replicant version of Nico on vocals (which is actually kind of endorsement).

But there is one glaring weakness throughout: the vocals. Amidst all this instrumental fun, the faux-jaded female singing and the irritating religious-cult lyrical shtick stands out like a white nudist at a Nation of Islam convention. When will CDs come with their own mixers?

—John Pecorelli

Alternative Press magazine