THE (INTERNATIONAL) NOISE CONSPIRACY
Armed Love
American / Warner
· "We don’t just want the crumbs from the rich man’s table, we want the whole fucking dinner!"
If you take the leftist rage of The Redskins and update it with fixed elections, illegal wars, economic oppression and oil imperialism, you get an idea of the political tone of The (International) Noise Conspiracy. And if you take the edginess of early Elvis Costello and mix it with punk rock sensibilities and Lenny Kravitz-like revisionist ’70s hard rock crunchiness, you get an idea of their sound. And if you combine this with a frenetic live act replete with Roger Daltrey-esque microphone-swinging, crowd-surfing, leg kicks and rampant kinetics, you get an idea of their live energy. But really, that only touches the surface and the whole is much, much better than the sum of all the above parts.
Pursued, signed and produced by Rick Rubin, Sweden’s Noise Conspiracy have released their most accessible and best record to date, which also features the legendary Billy Preston on keyboards. Armed Love has taken the band to the next level. Welcome! But wait, some might cry sellout. It most certainly is not. It’s just good fucking music – catchy, anthemic, stirring, inspiring, serious, driven, but still so much fun.
Without a single weak song, Armed Love allows The (International) Noise Conspiracy to get their message out to a broader audience. Technically outstanding, the guitars are prominent but not overpowering, allowing the vocals to soar. The keys and harmonica add punch and the rhythm section just kicks. "Black Mask" has been updated from 1999 – slowed down and filled out, it still drives just as hard. "The Way I Feel About You" is a stellar catchy love song. "Like A Landslide" has a compelling chorus that makes you want to sing along and pump your fist (and maybe join the Communist Party, too). Every song rocks.
The (International) Noise Conspiracy advocate downloading as a way to fight the power of the record and movie industry and as a way to break down current economic structures. Buy this album, borrow it, download it, steal it or whatever. Just get it and get on. Revolution.
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