Location:
USA, NY

Category:
Rock

Try if you like:
Hella, Lightning Bolt, Oneida

•   Nowheres Nigh

I think I may have found another favorite band on Jagjaguwar. Receivers is the fourth album for Parts & Labor and while they seem to borrow a ton from Secret Machines (who I have been listening to quite a bit lately as well) they manage to keep their own sound quite easily. On their one-sheet the writers throw around Brian Eno, Wire and Pink Floyd as comparisons which are very accurate as well. The band put out a call on their websites looking for audio samples from friends and fans to assemble their new album. Receivers is the result and they promise that they have used each and every sample on here. As you can imagine it does get overwhelming at times but I can't believe how listenable this album has turned out.

Receivers opens up with an amazing track called "Satellites". The song is hypnotic in rhythm but lovable due to clever harmonics and melodies. It has a bit of a retro feel to it but nothing that dates the sound. They change pace slightly with an even more lovable track called "Noweheres Nigh". This track is screaming for college radio play. It wouldn't take much to push this catchy song into the charts. "Mount Misery" pulls things back in before you hit the stratosphere. A gentle track that reminds me a little of Wolf Parade. Then they almost get folky on "Little Ones", a serious sing along track. The sing along vibe carries over to "The Ceasing Now" but this one has a much larger footprint. It's gets almost deafening in the middle, in a good way. Then we are back to the great sounds of the keyboard on "Wedding in a Wasteland". Dan Friel creates some amazing and cool riffs on his keyboard providing the perfect background for the best song on the album. The band quite often gets a Husker Du comparison, it's tracks such as this one that merit that hefty juxtaposition.

Receivers is almost a flawless release from Parts & Labor. It will be very interesting to see where this group takes it from here. In the meantime, there is plenty of repeat listens to be had in this release.