If The Mars Volta were more accessible, they’d be called Blueprint Car Crash. A recent addition to The Militia Group stable, BCC are quite far removed from many of the label’s other bands, suggesting bosses could be wishing to spread their wings and diversify slightly. Anyway, Blueprint Car Crash are a four piece who play technical post-hardcore that doesn’t fit into any one style – the band shift and switch from the quiet to the loud, from the screech to the scream and from the melodic to the plain noisy in a swift flick of a distortion pedal. ‘Rhetoric of a Marionette’ is an interesting record that tries to be different, yet doesn’t really disappear too far from what The Mars Volta have already done. OK, I’m being lazy by comparing the two bands, but there are passing resemblances, even vocally, which nod the way of the Volta. However, it’s arguably the lyrical themes that make this record stand out.
At 27-minutes for just six tracks, this record is quite weighty. ‘Kiss Me One Last Line’ opens things up with shifts in time signatures and bellowing vocals, all of which sound fantastic among a cacophony of exploding guitars. Well not literally exploding, but you get what I mean. The initial verse is probably the most melodic of the entire record, while the chorus is arguably the catchiest. The drums are fantastic and it all ties in well – a good, solid start. ‘12.8.80’ leads straight in from the previous song, and tells the (very graphic) tale of how John Lennon was shot, from the point of view of the gun that shot him. Different eh? Put this to a background of murderous schemes and off-kilter sounds and it creates a disturbing atmosphere. “Make my bullet tear the flesh of the white dressed man on Abbey Road,†vocalist Mo Shahisaman screams, creating one of the more controversial songs of the year.
Lyrically the rest of the record continues with its controversy. ‘Bel-Imperia’ would appear to tell the tale of a man who is choking the life from a woman and then talking of his sexual advances. With lyrics like “I just can’t help myself, suffocating you I feel so aliveâ€, “you’d let me cum in your mouth but not touch your heart†and “your lifeless lips have never tasted so sweet†there’s an uneasy sense of violence. The track itself is a chaotic guitar driven effort which avoids any kind of rigidness, weaving the vocals around the clever lead riffs. In between all that ‘Grave of Fireflies’ twists and builds, while ‘Terminat Hora Diem’ acts as an interlude, but both are overshadowed by the apparent sexual violence suggested in the lyrics.
‘Rhetoric of a Marionette’ is, musically, a very interesting piece of work. It defies the genre boundaries and at least attempts to create a sound which Blueprint Car Crash try and call their own. There are passing nods at bands like The Mars Volta, but tracks such as ‘Kiss Me One Last Line’ are more accessible. Deep down BCC would appear a band with issues, and the uneasy lines of torture and sexual gratification are sure to court some negative publicity. Still, thumbs up for at least trying to be different, even if it doesn’t always work.
The Militia Group
www.themilitagroup.com
Paul