The Narrator

All That to the Wall (Flameshovel)

By Erin Wolf
Published: May 23rd, 2007 | 9:22pm

On the Narrator’s sophomore release, the Chicago band continues to make like hometown homies Cap ‘n Jazz, combining jangly and hyper melodies with spazzed-out shouts, the product of a youthful energy that comes from living off of cereal and Red Bull and feeling frustrated because this diet is not a choice, but the life of a twenty-something.

Much like Oxford Collapse’s Remember the Night Parties, All That to the Wall is a straight-out disgruntled dance-in-place exorcism of the frustrations of the post-graduation, pre-“normal life” stage. Guitarists/vocalists Sam Axelrod and Jesse Woghin sing of pathos in a very tangible way, magnetizing, instead of alienating, by combining their lyrical frustrations with melodies constructed in a slyly upbeat fashion. Listening to the pairing of defeatist lyrics against a dose of Thermals-esque melodies and the charmingly familiar bits of Built to Spill’s quirkiness topped with Malkmus/Kinsella vocals, it’s hard not to be taken in by the sheer interestingness of the combination.

Throwing in a slew of new album contributors, namely new drummings by Dave Turncrantz (Russian Circles) and Dan Fetherston (Oxford Collapse), All That to the Wall launches into a crunchy intro, Woghin howling amidst a backdrop of guitar tenor-twinkles and a thick layer of bass, compliments of James Barron. The album pauses for breath into the third track, oddly enough entitled “Speeding Up the Gang”, and launches into quick-paced pop gem “Surfjew”, continuing the speeding up, slowing down trend and balancing introspection with the sheer aftermath of frustration. Blame it on the passive-aggressiveness of youth, but it’s definitely an enjoyable passive-aggressive byproduct.