Search Results for:

ARCHERS OF LOAF

Archers Of Loaf

Reason In Decline

    As sculpted shards of guitar tumbling, tolling, squalling shower the jittery bounce of a piano on opener “Human,” it’s obvious that Reason in Decline, Archers of Loaf’s first album in 24 years, will be more than a nostalgic, low-impact reboot. When they emerged from North Carolina’s ’90s indie-punk incubator, the Archers’ hurtling, sly, gloriously dissonant roar was a mythologized touchstone of slacker-era refusal. But this, the distilled shudder of “Human” (as in “It’s hard to be human / When only death can set you free”), is an entirely different noise. In fact, it’s a startling revelation.

    In short, this is not your father’s Archers of Loaf, even if you’re a father now who was a fan then. (If that’s the case, congrats on surviving the Plague and getting to hear this fearlessly poignant record, you alt-geezer!) Otherwise, thank your youthful fucking lucky stars, kids! Enjoy Reason in Decline with fresh ears and do as the Archers have been doing: Stay humble, stay informed, express yourself creatively, and try not to lose your goddamned mind while the polar ice caps melt. Peace.

    TRACK LISTING

    01 Human
    02 Saturation And Light
    03 Screaming Undercover
    04 Mama Was A War Profiteer
    05 Aimee
    06 In The Surface Noise
    07 Breaking Even
    08 Misinformation Age
    09 The Moment You End
    10 War Is Wide Open

    Archers Of Loaf

    Raleigh Days / Street Fighting Man

      THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2020 RELEASE AVAILABLE ONLINE ONLY AS PART OF THE AUGUST 29TH DROP DAY AT 6PM.
      LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.


      Limited edition on black vinyl.Raleigh Days is the first new material in 20 years from indie rock icon Archers of Loaf, with a cover of "Street Fighting Man" originally recorded by The Rolling Stones, on the B-side.The band tour North America across the calendar in 2020, including on Record Store Day.

      Archers Of Loaf

      Icky Mettle

        Originally released in 1993; refreshed here with liner notes by Robert Christgau (of Village Voice).

        “No single trend in 1990s indie rock can be traced back to Archers of Loaf. They weren't quite "lo-fi," they weren't quite "slackers," their guitars weren't quite "noisy" and their drums weren't quite "mathy." Eric Bachmann's vocals were gritty and visceral, but his lyrics were oblique and cerebral. Archers of Loaf thrived on subtle contradictions, on purposeful vagaries, on tentative gestures delivered with utmost conviction.

        They released increasingly adventurous records for five years, and broke up with minimal drama or fanfare. This perfectly captures the energy of the band's early days, from their slapdash first singles to the scrappy brilliance of Icky Mettle itself to the more honed recordings that followed. Released on the heels of some well-received singles and a buzzed-about performance at the CMJ Music Marathon in New York, Icky Mettle was a hotly anticipated debut. To say it starts on a strong note would be an understatement; opener "Web in Front" is quite simply among the finest indie rock songs ever written. That a song whose lyrics are all but impossible to parse literally comes off as so immediate and relatable speaks both to Bachmann's skill with words-as-sounds, and to his bandmates' ability to put force and nuance behind his voice. Much of the credit here belongs to guitarist Eric Johnson, whose melodic and fluttery guitar parts seem to hammer the very emotional notes that Bachmann's words intentionally skirt. The second disc compiles the excellent Vs. the Greatest of All Time EP and the early singles that were previously included on the Speed of Cattle compilation. The five songs from Vs. the Greatest of All Time hint at the more spacious and muscular sound that the band would cultivate on their sophomore LP, Vee Vee, while early 7" versions of "Wrong" and "Web in Front" are disjointed and flaccid previews of their album counterparts. Uncertainty has never sounded so much like a rallying cry” 

        TRACK LISTING

        LP :

        1. Web In Front
        2. Last Word 
        3. Wrong
        4. You And Me
        5. Might 
        6. Hate Paste
        7. Fat 
        8. Plumb Line
        9. Learo, You're A Hole 
        10. Sick File 
        11. Toast
        12. Backwash
        13. Slow Worm


        Latest Pre-Sales

        190 NEW ITEMS

        E-newsletter —
        Sign up
        Back to top