Andrew of Drab Majesty has expanded this from a project into an actual band that now grants things more of an organic punk feel. The album certainly opens in a manner that suggests the punk in post-punk is what is getting most of the emphasis here. "Hush Money Millionaire" is another song that pushes it in more of a 70s punk direction. They back from this into a moodier rock feel for "Inanimate Love". It feels like by slowing things down, the more deliberate approaches help the song. The songs are not three-minute ditties, but allow some room to jam out and create a mood. The lyrics touching on topics like necrophilia are on the darker end of the spectrum, which so far might be my favorite thing about this album.
Then they are back to the dirty alleys where punk branched off from rock on a song like "Squid Row", which is about slum lords. "Real Doll Time" finds them back closer to the sonic zip code of traditional punk, but with a more mod feel on the chorus. They jam with the intent to drone by the end of the song. 'Runaway Runaway" stalks you with a creepier tension. The guitars add odd touches of melodic nuance, to create a weird rainbow of sound. It is the first song I think bears mentioning the psychedelic aspects of where everything up to this point has been dark garage punk. The jams begin to feel like the eyes of a pervert who allows his stare to linger over his prey long enough to feel uncomfortable.
These feelings make you rethink the meaning of titles like "Space Invasion". Which is about a home invasion, not UFOS. There is enough surreal guitar effects to make you think either might be the case unless you listen closer to the lyrics. Then the lyrics begin to reference the perspective of a stalker stalking their stalker. The drugs kick in and begin to cause psychosis in the trippy breakdown. "Jenny Killer Glue" is such a bizarre song title I paid closer attention to the lyrics to decipher what it might be about. The vocals are almost more spoken as they ponder what drugs Jenny is putting up her nose. The answer seems to be a special glue. The games they play with feedback are not unlike those A Place to Bury Strangers also peddles.
"In Great Detail" finds him putting more effort into singing. They are still cruising the streets to this early 80s vision of punk. The last track is just ambient noise creating an outro, this could have spun out from the previous song without being its own track. I will give this album a 9, and see how it grows on, so far it's a funny reminder of the ghosts of punks past.
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