Performing Songwriter, Sept/Oct 2003 Frenzied masses of droning feedback, jumbled, ear-piercing guitar non-solos; arrangements put together by someone with the attention span of a gnat; 20 seconds of backwards guitar titled "Floyd Terrace, 4 a.m." Two questions immediately come to mind upon listening Weed Patch's Maybe The Brakes Will Fail: 1) What the hell is this? 2)Why do I love it so much? OK, it's not that weird, but this guttering, swerving record consists of 12 undeniable tracks ranging from breezy country rock (cool) to sheer noisy mayhem (even cooler). The sonic and continuity limitations of recording in a Los Angeles warehouse over the course of a year serve to make this record more disconnected and haunting—like 5 a.m. jitters. "Codeine" is one of the most perfect drug songs since the Velvet Underground discovered heroin, and "Like California," "Sandy Koufax" and "Let Go Of The Wheel" display a ruthless intelligence with hooks that make you think, "Maybe I'm the one with the attention span of a gnat." |