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***San Francisco dive-bombing noise-metal jazz aggressors Total Shutdown are a five-piece bass-guitar-keyboard-sax-drums screecher band who flail through stop-and-start, minute-long, tantrum-like songs. Bernard Stollman, the guy who started ESP-Disk said, "There doesn't seem to be any point to it" or something, and even French people have made fun of them. Yes, French. Total Shutdown are a part of the new herd of young groups informed by the discordant flare of no wave....[T]hey combine this perceptive ugh with a brand of destructo power nearly worthy of The Germs or early Boredoms. It's really a pretty ripe combination. -Byron Coley, The Wire [R]ecommended for lovers of art/noise punk bands like The Locust and Arab on Radar. If you're looking for things like harmonies, pop-song structure and lyrics you can sing along with, you should probably go hide in a closet until this is over.... Total Shutdown attacks in a blur of pummeling guitars, unintelligible vocal hollering and out-of-tune piano bludgeoning, then withdraws just as quickly to muster their next assault. -GZ, splendidezine.com Splattery jazz-core without macho attitude. Horns and a broken Casio poking up everywhere out of a bass/guit/drums whirlwind. Screaming, oh, yes, there is screaming. There is room to throw a rock and sometimes a boulder through the mix. Not a wall of noise-- it gets sparse. Songs, definite songs, but played so ferociously that you may think it's improv. Awesome moves from all members. Usually things are broken. Band members and audience members alike hit the deck. All in all, terrible fun.-Dave Broekema, lifeisabuse.com |
