FFWD Weekly
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| MUSIC REVIEWS TRANSISTOR SOUND & LIGHTING CO. · Trio of best pals from Winnipeg, Manitoba specializing in "fuzz overtone, sunny lake music." · The first single, "Anyways/Mayonnaise," is what Dolby Sound was invented for. Going through Transistor Sound & Lighting Co.'s album gave me the same thrill as eating a bag of ketchup chips as a kid and finding a cool rock sticker at the bottom of the bag. Each time the album ends, I wipe the drool with my sleeve and scramble for the repeat button. These boys make the guitar wail like an opera vocalist and confidently oscillate between acoustic and plugged-in magic with precision and prowess. They begin with a bullet of a lead-off track ("Coffee Song" - the best caffeine buzz I've ever experienced) complete with Battlestar Gallactica guitar sounds. Another heavy hitter is "Anyways/Mayonnaise" with stormy vocals and delightful speedster strumming. The rest of the tracks are flawlessly inventive, melodic, open and airy ("Prince Vince" and "Fly the Trike, A Faster Bike," especially). The pop is present and pleasant ("House of Sleep"), while other songs question a stereo's capability with discordantly melodic, blood-and-thunder hooks. To make the experience complete, the last three tracks nip you in the butt with a different shower of sound before the album ends. Transistor Sound & Lighting Co. are an entertaining force with acoustic surety and electric mayhem. They're unconventional - the antithesis to most music genres - and give 16 sonic steps in 42 minutes flat to a completely cathartic encounter. 5/5 Aubrey McInnis |