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BANDS: Punk
& Ska INTERESTS: Venues ETC... About
LOTD
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Calibretto/Mercury
Radio Theater:
All of These Things Do Not Belong is a split LP from two fairly different bands, the recently-defunct, alt-punk-surf-ska band Calibretto and the amazingly quirky, primarily instrumental Mercury Radio Theater. Its not an obvious mix based on the way each bands music tends to be described, but the pairing turns out to be a match made in heaven. So good, in fact, that you might not always be sure which band is playing. The CD sleeve designers failed (perhaps intentionally?) to distinguish which tracks are by which band, leaving it up to the listener to decide. Reviewers are provided with a bio sheet mentioning that Calibretto is heavily into organ and MRT is instrumental, but this doesnt answer all questions: are the songs that feature only minimal vocals still driven by MRT, are they collaborations between the two bands, or do they represent Calibrettos more experimental side? Whoevers steering the ship at any given moment doesnt much matter, though, for this is a pretty solid release from start to finish. It opens with Leader of the Frat, a very Violent Femmes-sounding number, definitely attributable to Calibretto. Its got Gordon Gano-style stuttering vocals and carnival-esque organ swirling behind fantastically jumpy drums and walking bass. My T.V. Affair is an adrenaline-pumping number that mixes energetic, reverb-drenched surf guitar with B-grade horror movie organ swells and distorted vocals; it could almost be a long-lost cut from the Pulp Fiction soundtrack. The mostly instrumental, hilariously titled Big Money, Big Money, No Whammies, No Whammies, STOP! follows, and what a number it is. An insanely paced, intricately timed chaotic section is swallowed up by a gorgeously played, gentle interlude that only lasts a few seconds and then abruptly shifts back into the chaos. Although Im sure neither MRT nor its fans would want to make the connection, theres actually something very Phish-esque about the complexity and strange stylistic blends of this composition, but MRT punks it up sufficiently well by littering Black Francis-esque shouts throughout. Track four is a fairly straightforward, slightly emo melodic punk number from Calibretto that made it past this emo-hating reviewers ears relatively unscathed, meaning its a solid track. Tracks five and six seem likely to be solo MRT or collaborations, being mostly instro, but the two are entirely different from one another: the former is another rapidly moving mix of mathy madness and gentle guitar lines, while the latter, Who Killed Whistlers Mother, is a strange blend of mid-tempo surf guitar and whistling above military-style drums and bass. Track seven kicks up the energy again with Calibrettos more aggressive surf-punk, but track eight brings us back to MRTs weird world. This one has some scarily Phish-sounding guitar mixed with Ramones-esque Hey! Hey! Hey! shouts, and believe me, it works. Track nine sounds a lot like the softer side of Green Day, with Calibrettos singer bringing out the Billie Joe/fake British accent side of his voice and the band cooling off its usually frenetic pace. But the slowdown doesnt last long: the disc closer, a terrific Clash update, combines extremely buoyant punk-ska with 50s sci-fi flick organ to create an instantly memorable working class anthem-meets-spooky silliness vibe. Again, the main point to be made here is that somehow this all works. Calibretto and Mercury Radio Theater pull off a varied, yet smooth-flowing album filled mostly with memorable, energetic, eccentric, fun tunes that will have you spinning it over and over again just to figure out what exactly is going on. It seems some questions are better left unanswered.
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