Jun
01
from The Boston Phoneix, Feb 9, 2009:
Reports, “Bill Wyman Metal Detector”
At long last, a new Reports track has arrived like a flaming aircraft through the very roof of the Internet. Fans of white noise, echo, and post-everything pop that’s scratchy and catchy as hell will wreck many an earbud to this treat — a taste of what’s to come on RTS perhaps?
General Interest, “What’s a Darfur?”
“I can’t keep up with the world!” exclaims the protagonist of “What’s a Darfur?” before asking, “Can it be a video game? Is it some kind of sex position? Will it cure my runny nose?” This is a smart, well-placed scratch across the face of a culture swept up in self-improvement as the world falls apart.
Life Partners, “Teenager in Trouble”
This asthmatic little ditty is a not-so-empathetic portrait of a recently knocked-up young lady. Life ain’t so pretty in the world of the Life Partners — and there’s music to match. Dirty, sludgy, aggressive but logy, they reach each nerve and pinch it hard. This song is the B-side of their recently released “AIDS of Spades” seven-inch — one sec while we roll our eyes at that joke. There.
- MICHAEL BRODEUR
Jun
01
Self described “shit wave”, GENERAL INTEREST actually plays complex, tuneful, bass driven post punk not unlike MINUTEMEN, fIREHOSE, or NOMEANSNO. What sets them apart from those bands is the way the vocals are spoken, not sung. Essentially, what you’ve got is an American, punk version of UK pop act ART BRUT. While the lyrics are clever and funny, the delivery has a tendency to detract from the really cool music. Every song sounds like the spoken part of SUICIDAL TENDECIES “Institutionalized”. It makes it hard to really get into the songs. It sounds like the singer is somehow holding back, like he doesn’t believe in what they are doing. I know it’s what they are going for, but given the strength of the music, I can’t help felling a it’s a slightly wasted opportunity. (AM)
Jun
01
from Still Single, January 11, 2010:
Short and sweet debut doozy from Boston’s General Interest, on the excellent Ride the Snake Records, and the first thing that jumps out is that it’s immediately Minutemen-esque. No point avoiding the obvious right? The important distinction, and one that really makes it work for me, is that it’s never wah-wah funky. The music is twisty and spindly, propelled by Wendy’s bass, in a way that evokes the hallmarks of the SST catalog, particularly Stephen Egerton’s Descedents songs, occasionally dissonant and what the pros call it – “angular” – but still tightly organized, a real aggressive driver. The music is well served by the Idiot Child’s clever and manic exhortations, balancing postmodern political observances with screeds on nuking the ocean and illicit cop romances. From the first line – “You’re a freegan,” it’s hard not laugh a little. I appreciate the wit, and desire to say something, which has become sadly rare for punk bands. Highly recommended. -Killedbyjeff
