UrboSleeks is a four-man band who, after cutting their teeth in Lafayette, Louisiana for a few years, decided to up and head for Athens, Georgia. While Athens is known for being the home of Elephant 6 cohorts like Neutral Milk Hotel and The Olivia Tremor Control (or what's left of them), UrboSleeks' sound can't really be compared to any of that stuff. Their music is a unique mixture of spacey guitars, complex and catchy hooks, intricate rhythms, wondering song structures and the unique vocal stylings of Jason Trahan and Jason Robira. UrboSleeks has the sort of incredibly tight chemistry and arrangements that can only be achieved by a band that has been together for many years.
Preconsumptions, their second album, tests many different waters but maintains a coherent sound. The opening track, "Egzect Disidge", kicks in with a speedy fuzz bass barrage, then breaks into a catchy mid-section with rolling drums, chimes and Jason's high, almost British-sounding vocals melodically skipping over the pulsating undertow. The song then descends into a five-minute psychedelic jam-out, and finally fades out in a swarm of jittery noise. "Bravin' the Storm in Car #929" kicks in with a very familiar bluesy riff, which had me guessing at first, but when the song kicks into a revved-up, Beachwood Sparks kind of groove, the stale riff starts to sound really good. It's a totally sixties-style rocker, complete with fuzz bass, hand claps, phased guitars and scenic lyrics like "The clouds are rolling like a cotton sea," and "Water falls from the overpass." Some cool production effects make all of the instrumentation to swirl around in a pleasantly disorienting fashion. "After 1 A.M." is a mellow, swirly march, which features some of the album's best singing and ends in a hard-rocking jam.
With one or two exceptions, the latter half of the album descends into spaced out confusion. While not particularly uninteresting, it disappoints when compared to the brilliant catchiness and clever arrangements of the earlier songs. The album's longest track, clocking in at about 12 minutes, is a rather tedious, Jane's Addiction-style dirge that only adds to the monotony. Luckily, the disc closes with the digestible "Tasty Roadkill" -- an upbeat, uplifting, hook-intensive pop song. While it's not going to propel the UrboSleeks into the national spotlight, Preconsumptions shows an experienced, tight and creative band doing their thing really well. And who can deny a good thing?
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