We Talked About Murder
Expecting the Explosion (Has Anyone Ever Told You?)Sad to say, but maybe it’s time to look back to the Nineties for guidance. Sure, it was a pretty faceless 10-year span, but like every decade, it had its share of sound musical trends. One of the better ones was the skewed guitar rock of bands like Superchunk, Chavez, Archers of Loaf, and Polvo, who practically invented the term “math rock” with their herky-jerky time signatures. Austin’s We Talked About Murder picks up where these bands left off on their second album, Expecting the Explosion, which has that special glow of a band hitting its stride. “Steppin’ Out” opens the disc with a barrage of Polvo-esque screeches, progressing into a firehouse fueled as much by punchy, unpredictable riffage as the full-throttle vocal tag scream. We Talked About Murder also brings to mind emo-rock idols Braid for the way they wring every ounce of feeling out of their vocal trade-offs over a bed of push-pull riffs. “Promise Play” is a highlight, a more fluid, rollicking trajectory evoking early Afghan Whigs. Regardless of comparisons, We Talked About Murder pounds their instruments with passion and surgical precision. Local punk god Tim Kerr, perhaps not the most likely candidate to produce, does a whale of a job bringing this out on Expecting the Explosion, recorded at local hubs the Bubble and Porchlight Studios. We Talked About Murder rocks in shades of gray, and Expecting the Explosion is their seminar on the art of chiaroscuro.
This article appears in April 11 • 2003.