Duraluxe

Item: Rock Music w/ Singing
Author: Micah Liesenfeld

Rock Music w/ Singing

(1995)

Reviewed by Micah Liesenfeld

Discogs Bandcamp Apple Music

Label Flying Tart RecordsThe LighthouseUnsorted 1998

alternative rock noise rock punk

There are very few bands out there satirizing our society's inability to think for itself. In fact, Duraluxe (formerly known as Fluffy) may be the only band dedicated to this task 100 percent. Rock Music w/ Singing is no exception.

Chrissy Colbert may be the mastermind behind Duraluxe, but this album has quite the cast of characters. Steve Hindalong (Choir), Nathan Pellegrin, Riki Michelle (Adam Again), and more all add vocals to this album. From an instrumental standpoint, the album pulses with Colbert's trademark "wall of distortion" guitar playing. Songs like "Dead Horse Grin" create such an impenetrable exoskeleton of distortion, it can almost be labeled "beautiful." "My Love," like all of the tracks on this album, has quite a distinct groove to it. Colbert's guitars start off a bit more subdued and build up to a controlled distortion.

Lyrically, Rock Music w/ Singing is hilarious. Everything is very nonsensical, but whispers in your ear, "I've got meaning; I dare you to guess what it is." An example of this would be "Bleach" with titillating lines like, "She's finger lickin' lonely and rooked." The rest of the lyrics in the album are just as-if not more-bizarre. There is also a vamped cover of David Bowie's "Moonage Daydream." "Bakin' a Cake" is an insane punk song about how good the singer's "moist yellow cake" is. This piece could be nudging at people's comfort zones, or it could be about a really good cake that somebody baked. However, I'm probably missing the point entirely, which seems to be the ongoing inside joke that Colbert and company have refused to let us in on.

The final track is a live track that sounds like it was made up on the spot. A sage-like voice from the band asks the crowd, "Are you down with the dc Talk?" The crowd (of probably 20 or fewer) bellows back something unintelligible. The speaker then gently rebukes the crowd with the universal "Dope." At this point, they go into a great hook, but they literally beat it to death. How much "hook" can the punk rockers take? Duraluxe wanted to know.