God, I hate the band Thailand. What they’ve done with “The Remote Controller†is unforgivable. Because it’s only an EP.
Marc Linquist is, frankly, one of the best indie rock (new new wave) songwriters performing today. He’s a fantastic abstract lyricist (From Down in the Trenches: “You look great now how’s your coma?/Sugar and dough and we’re all bleached out/Check the body count, look you dropped ten more/Does it feel like we’re down in the trenches?†From Heartland Failure: “One more year hating your country/One more year tearing your hearts in two.â€) He writes powerful music as well, and his bandmate Jonah Flicker (on guitars) and Staci Roark (synths, vocals) are perfect by his side, all of them playing together, incredibly tight. The band manages to be lucid and soaring without being shoegazy, and their debut album, Motorcade, was my pick for the third best indie album of 2007.
“Control Control†sounds much like Thailand’s debut, which is to say that it’s lo-fi, low-key indie rock
that washes your ears and mind with a sense of calm and wonder. The vocals stretch a little more than last time, approaching an Arcade Fire whine-and-howl, but all in all, this is just more Thailand. Which is to say, I love it!
Why is it an EP? There’s only one answer: They suck.
