The Out Circuit

Item: Burn Your Scripts Boys
Author: Peter Veness

Burn Your Scripts Boys

(2005)

Reviewed by Peter Veness

Discogs Bandcamp Apple Music

Label Lujo RecordsDecapolisMarch 2005

indie rock math rock post-hardcore post-rock

What does D.C. punk rock do when it gives up on punk rock? Sure, to an extent it goes all mushy and cries in the studio but the stages of grief associated with the loss of a loved one involve more than despair. Perhaps the final movement in dealing with death is rededication to the cause, a defiant choice to continue the work of the lost loved one.

So here we are, punk is long dead, emo is floating below the murk of the everglades and post rock has left a sizeable bruise on the collective conscience of, using it in its widest possible meaning, indie rock. Nathan Burke is the key force behind The Out Circuit and he has certainly played his part in the promotion of the punk rock aesthetic, most notably with Frodus in the late '90s and their widely acclaimed math rock cum punk LP And we washed our weapons in the sea. But if Burke was to be recognised as more than just another player in D.C. punk rock then he needed to add to his canon and here with The Out Circuit's debut long player he does more than necessary to maintain his position, both in cool credibility and in genuine songwriting circles.

Burn Your Scripts Boys couldn't be much further removed from the sonic attack of Frodus but it's right alongside Burke's former outfit in both the attitude delivered and the artistic approach. We Will End is unashamedly Mogwaiesque, it's building for four minutes but so subtly that when the climax comes on it's acutely shocking unlike a lot of b-grade, note perfect post rock. Burke is uncomfortably present, he's almost too 'in the moment' when he blisters and screams at the end of the track.

If you'll allow me to skip to the second from last track, Glasgow. Built around a set of chiming synths cum bells and an intricate dub bass line, the song is filmic, difficult, monochrome and completely and utterly brilliant. A city soundscape opens as a backdrop before the chimes and washing waves of a city hum and then the soothing side of Burke's vocals work against siren scratches and a slowly increasing pandemonium in the background. Percussion is pillowed and panicked breathing plays in a loop over the top before the wild side of Burke is unleashed. I've mentioned Glasgow and We Will End together because they are bookends on a, for the most part, softly spoken album.

The city is ours hints at modern hip hop beats but veers away from direct association with oddly distant vocal and spacey organs. However, that's all the song does barring a momentary bed of white noise, it's hard to salvage four minutes of nothing with a moment of bliss.

But, The Boy with the Durutti Column, along with being Burke's finest lyrical moment, is a top-notch reply to the sounds before it. A distinct and complex drum run precedes rough and beautiful vocal harmonies and a slow burning, winding riff. Instrumentally sparse yet musically complex, the song is a classy example of Burke's accomplished songwriting.

So, whilst it might be impolite and sarcastic to answer rhetorical questions there is your answer. When D.C. punk rock gives up on punk rock, it finds new life in quiet yet enraged places, where the fuel of punk rock lays down with the tormented beauty of post rock.

3.5/4