Record Hop: Record Hop

If you hadn't heard a single note of Record Hop's new material and instead just decided to take Quick or the Dallas Observer's word for it, you'd probably end up believing that the band had completely changed direction or instituted some huge shift in their sound and approach. I don't necessarily blame the Dallas music writer that needs an angle to justify throwing a band on the cover of their daily magazine or writing a big weekly feature on a local act. The mentality seems to be "Hey, this band might hit it big, and we should all be on board in case they do," and for better or worse, this attitude seems to pervade all levels of popular music journalism in the United States these days.

Sometimes the proverbial buzz translates into actual results, and a local band ends up getting featured on some taste-making website, or signing to a label, or a publishing deal, or getting on the roster of one of the big booking companies and opening for critically acclaimed acts at art galleries across the nation. Or maybe a band dupes a writer into thinking one of these things might happen. But let's hope not.

In Record Hop's case, a decision to make a record with Steve Albini resulted in the celebrated recording engineer stating on a poker message board that he thought the band was "terrific" and "carrying the rock torch." Stereogum happened to post this little tidbit in a large reposted chunk of the original Q and A, and to some speculators, this one two knockout publicity punch translated into instant success and a promise of big things to come. I know a lot of people who would take a compliment from Albini over say, a thousand people buying their record, and my intention is not to minimize or take anything away from that praise. Albini is more honest than most people, and therefore it sometimes seems like he gives scant compliments (in comparison to insults) towards musicians. But I think it puts an unfair bit of pressure on Record Hop, that they now have to "make it" due to their slight uptick in publicity. If this media driven idea of "making it" is to a band what the media driven idea of "beautiful" is to an anorexic teen, then there is the expectation that a band must have made some drastic change in order to easily fit into this constrictive conceptual mold.

Yet, here's the thing: Record Hop didn't need a big change to be great. They already were. And the best parts of their eponymous second LP are the things that have largely remained unchanged-- the immense, scraping, twin guitar rock sound leading an abusive rhythm section topped off with wonderfully slurred vocals. That is largely what is on this record, and the only times I ever feel that the band takes a step back are during the moments where this formula seems somewhat compromised. Thankfully there aren't too many of those moments. But am I supposed to interpret them as a band finally sounding as they are "supposed" to? Again, Record Hop wasn't broke, so don't fix it.

The bluesy opener "Skirtchaser," veers a little too close to blues rock territory, and it seems that any of the other tracks might have made better openers. Once again, Ashlee Cromeens' ability as a singer could save just about any lackluster backing music, and I could probably listen to her sing Jimmy Buffet or Eagles' covers without slitting my wrists. There are a handful of singers in the world I could probably say that about. The album really picks up on the second, and one of the best tracks, "Maths." The complex little working parts that make up the verse and lead up to the equally intricate chorus are really something to return to. Included lyric sheets tell us that Cromeens sings "Take this card/I'll fend off" repeatedly, and I realize that I've never wanted to know exactly what she's saying. How she says it has always been the point, hence the slurring.

It's fitting that Record Hop once went as Fugazi for Halloween, as I hear traces of the superior "Repeater"-era in the riffs of "Dognapper," "Yr War," and the aforementioned "Maths." Elsewhere, 90's rock worship almost threatens to undo the momentum by conjuring up another DC Hardcore disciple, Tom Morello, when he started ripping off Zeppelin, such as on the big pulloff-happy riffing on "Rocket Seance." Again, saved by the singing.

Record Hop pushes some of their toughest material late in the record with the brief explosion of "End Of Line," followed by the almost equally short "Clique." This is one of the most successful stretches on the album, and by the time "American Weed" rolls around, it almost seems a shame that the band didn't have more songs like these on the first half of the record, especially considering that they certainly weren't lacking these high energy moments in their past catalog.

The recording itself is as excellent as expected, and Justin Collins did a seamless job mixing all but one of the tracks. But as a self-professed big fan of the band's first record, Pareidolia, I have a certain bias in favor of it, and I think Matt Barnhart has been taking some real critical slings as to how he didn't really capture their sound on the debut. The first record sounds like Record Hop, and it features some unforgettable songs that have always caused people to ask what they're hearing when I play it around the house, which is usually followed by the exclamation of"Really?," when I explain that they're a local band from Denton. The obvious semi-ballad on the s/t record is "Slugworth," and it's good, for sure. But will it have the staying power of local classic, "Last Second?"

Hard to say, and I want to reiterate that these are unfair expectations that have been put on the band, even if it's nice to get so much attention, and I only ask questions like that in the face of how some people have framed the latest chapter of the Record Hop "story." So let people gamble and speculate on the next breakout act, but Record Hop should rest easy knowing that they were always deserving of such acclaim and hyperbole of the sort wasted on their lesser peers, back in the salad days of '04.

(3.5 out of 5)