I’ve never been to the Midwest, but based on the bands that come out ofthat whole scene, I have to imagine it to be a pretty fucked up place.Stnnng(pronounced “stunning”) call Minneapolis their home and they can’t helpbut be a reflection of a geographical area known better for itsoppressive winters and amazing ability to be flat than its contributionto society.Modern Radio
The reference points on the band’s debut are like a map that cut aclear trail to the front doors of Touch & Go, circa 1993. Theguitars sputter and spew, pissed as shit and itching for a fight. On arecord like this, it’s the drums that keep everything and everyone fromgoing overboard, and while drummer J. Michael Ward isn’t rewriting thebook, he does a good job of keeping the band from becoming an uttermess. Lyrically, Chris Besinger infuses his antagonistic cut and pastelyrics with two parts bile and one part cynical sneer.
A Cum Laudegraduate of The E. Smith & Albini School of Fucked Up Songwriting,Besinger’s lyrics read like the schizophrenic musings of a conspiracytheorist with a serious self-image problem. On standout “Ready theReplicas” he muses over spring coiled arpeggios and flashes of cleantone guitar strumming that “highly caffeinated acid heads havecommandeered the bathrooms on every floor” before the rioters outsiderush in to presumably burn the fucker down. While the song’s sci-fitale gone awry may seem cliché, it gives a clear indication of themusicianship of guitarists Adam Burt and Nathan Nelson and bassistJesse Kwakenat. Though “New National Anthem” does contain one gem of aline, “we sing for panty-sniffers, and the grossly overweight. Aren’tyou proud to be an American?,” it puts itself through one too many timechanges and verses. Perhaps due to the brevity of the rest of thealbum, “New National Anthem,” with its four minute running time, seemslike a marathon.
While the songs on Dignified Sissy seem ready to fallapart at any one second, that’s part of the fun. Stnnng bring nothingnew to the table, but in many ways that’s just fine. Dignified Sissyrocks out in ways that a lot of other albums won’t rock out in 2005.
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