Maybe it’s a bit too early to call, but right now I’d say it is safe to say that Stay Afraid, the latest release from Brooklyn noise-rockers Parts and Labor is the first great fist-in-the-air rock record of 2006. With all the instruments jacked up within an inch of their lives, the band goes flat out on every song here, and comes up victorious for the most part.
Opener, “A Great Divide,” is perhaps the most epic the group has ever gotten, with crunchy guitars and battered drums nearly drowning out bassist/vocalist B.J. Warshaw, who gives his all into fighting back the musical onslaught. Elsewhere, chintzy bits of synthesizer and ragged tunefulness which reminds me of Husker Du appears, adding an interesting counter-point to sonic onslaught. “New Buildings” opens sounding like a bit of discarded Lightning Bolt before opening up into a passionate rave up that sounds as much noise rock as it does SoCal punk. While the rockers on Stay Afraid are awesome, sternum shaking jolts of pure sweat and aggression, it would have been beneficial had the band decided to throw in a few longer tracks that show the true range of the group.
Despite this one caveat, the album as a whole is as solid as a Mack truck. “Death” begins with some distorted synthesizer swells before a high pitched squeal of feedback disrupts the calm and the song launches into a breakneck chorus. Warshaw’s voice is covered in a shroud of digital effects and distortion, recalling at times the distant warped vocals of former Jesus Lizard front man David Yow. Ultimately this works to the bands advantage as his voice becomes another facet of the overall sound. Stay Afraid is an endurance test of a record, not in terms of unpleasantness, but in terms of the pace of the record. One can see the band literally dropping at the conclusion of the closer “Changing of the Guard,” and while listeners might too, they shouldn’t be disappointed.
Like climbing stairs, grade school physical fitness tests, and triathlons, Stay Afraid is the kind of endurance test that will leave you happy about the ass kicking it hands you.
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