SCARCITY OF TANKS
NO ENDOWMENTS // 2008, Total Life Society
Mathew Wascovitch has put together a pretty killer record here – his collection of musicians known as Scarcity of Tanks have been at it for awhile, and this album definitely reflects the time put in. From the cover art by Devendra Banhart to the final master by Weasel Walter, all the details are in place for a minor-masterpiece. Churning bass lines (hell, Mike Watt himself actually filled in on bass for the Scarcity of Tanks Southern California tour earlier in the year), improvisational jazz motifs, spoken word, jagged Stoogesque guitars…the sound is pretty unclassifiable…kind of like some art-punk-rocking-jazz-poet jam gone crazy for a night on mushrooms – and that’s the best compliment I can give a band. Most of the songs are pretty simple, riding a key through to the end – falling in and out of chaos, the tempos change but the groove remains present. And Wascovitch throws down some pretty good lines over the top of the madness…my favorite – “The walkers contemplate running” from the song – “Motto for the Parked”. S.O.T. is a classic example of a Cleveland band that’s pretty well known in a lot of underground scenes across the globe, but largely ignored by the locals…despite the fact that the revolving line-up has featured a virtual hall-of-fame of Cleveland musicians.
- Ian P.E.
