Local Reviews: Armorie

Armorie
Pew Pew
Self-Released
Street 4.16
Armorie = WHY? + Grüvis Malt + Beck
While the arrangements of the songs on Pew Pew feel a little spastic, a little schizo, giving this record repeated listens helps to understand what the band was going for as a whole.  I mean, this sounds like a few different guys getting their ideas down on a recording, experimenting with abandon and developing minor themes into entire songs. Little bits of jaunty guitar or keyboard combine with electronic or produced-sounding bass, lyrics vary from rap delivery to more noise-centered poems like the work of cLOUDDEAD or Saul Williams and drums that varyingly thump or click. This band is at its best when all five members truly come together, focusing on the same musical project.  Other times a song is too crowded to be memorable, but during pieces like “Skipping Stone” and “Whistler,” the varying forces at play on this record really seem to be operating in harmony. On “Train Song,” the vocals are a dead-ringer for Guero-era Beck and I challenge you to not let “B&S” or “Benefactor” get stuck in your head.  Overall, this is fantastic record from these Logan artists, especially for being recorded in basements, on home computers or wherever.  Let’s hope they keep up the good work and only refine their art.