REVIEW: Poster Children, New World Record (Spinart)
- Steve Kandell
Though their stint on Sire Records may have failed to make them a household name, Champaign, Illinois' Poster Children have spent ten years forging what could lovingly be described as "geek rock." Returning to safe indie ground intact, the band is releasing New World Record. This new album downplays the sheen of 1997s Rtfm and earlier releases in favor of a dynamic sound that is more representative of their athletic live outings. Driven by Howie Kantoff's hyperkinetic drumming and anchored by thick bass lines from Rose (whose nonstop onstage pogoing gives Superchunk's Laura Balance a run for her money) Poster Children are nothing if not a tight unit. Kantoff is actually the band's sixth drummer, proving once again that life really does imitate Spinal Tap. Guitarists Rick and Jim Valentin round out the quartet, with Rick providing the vocals in a reedy monotone that is somehow a cross between Marcellus Hall from Railroad Jerk and the B-52's Fred Schneider.
The album gets off to a strong start with the bouncy, percussive "Accident Waiting to Happen," and the blistering "6x6." Other standouts include "Chemicals" and "Mr. Goodnight." "Planet Earth" is a bit more new wave than the other bottom-heavy tracks, and perhaps it's not a coincidence that Duran Duran had an early single with the same title. The pace slows down a little on the last song, the keyboard-laced "Deadman," but otherwise, this album is ballad-free and fairly heavy.
Poster Children's guitar-driven songs steer clear of sampling or electronica, but they are still steeped in all things science and technology. Album titles like Daisychain Reaction suggest physics classes long forgotten and the band has been at the forefront of new technology in music, capitalizing on such developments as enhanced compact discs and the web long before such things were fashionable or commonplace. If the twelve songs on the New World Record CD are not enough to hold your interest, feel free to pop the thing into your computer and feast on the screensavers, live videos, and even a cute video game. Maybe they're not complete trailblazers: Journey had their own arcade game (if you were able to get all four band members to the stage successfully, you'd be treated to a version of "Don't Stop Believin'.")
