Lithics: Tower of Age 12″ Tri-color vinyl

Description

After introducing themselves to the world with 2016’s Borrowed Floors (Water Wing) and throwing down the gauntlet with 2018’s Mating Surfaces on Kill Rock Stars, Lithics make the jump to Trouble In Mind for Tower of Age. It bristles with invention, wedging lyrical Dadaism into right angles of rhythmic minimalism. This is music in ellipses. A circular communication and a fusion of decades worth of musical insight into a singular refraction of thought & sound. Guitars plunk and scratch, and rhythms pulse and syncopate tightly wound around an imagist’s philosophy to “use absolutely no word that does not contribute to the presentation.” The band’s austere approach to composition and wordplay elevates them above and beyond bands seeking similar sounds; it’s not that they use less; it’s how they use less. RIYL: Deerhoof, Bush Tetras, Kleenex/Liliput, Delta 5, Pylon, Y Pants, Liquid Liquid, Sex Clark Five, Grass Widow and Palberta.

Our take: Ive been a fan of Portlands Lithics ever since their single, Photograph, You of, bowled me over back in 2018. From there, I went back to investigate the bands two previous LPsboth of which were really goodand also checked out their Wendy Kraemer EP, which compiled demo and practice recordings. At the risk of over-simplifying, Id put Lithics tracks into three primary groups: there are the angular, jittery post-punk tracks where the intertwining guitar and bass lines are the star; the occasional moment of pop bliss like Photograph, You of; and more experimental moments like the stuff that formed the biggest part of the Wendy Kraemer EP. While first category remains Lithics bread and butter, Tower of Age becomes the go-to Lithics record by integrating their approaches into a vision that is ambitious and cohesive. Hands is the standout pop track and the LPs highlight, anchoring the album how Wire tracks like Mannequin or Map Ref. 41N 93W counterbalance the more experimental moments on their respective albums. At the other end of Tower of Ages spectrum is Snake Tattoo, a short piece that sounds like an analog tape loop and is as evocative and puzzling as anything youll find in an art gallery. Much of the rest of the album is in Lithics angular, rhythmic wheelhouse, but theyre hardly beating a dead horse. In particular, I love how theres variation in fidelity among the tracks. While some sound like polished studio recordings, others sound like they might be room recordings. Not only is the sound grainier on these tracks but also the band sounds tentative and delicate, like theyre building a house of cards, but with intertwining little riffs. Theres just so much on this album to notice, to enjoy, and to ponder. Few modern bands who play in this post-punk style can match the ambition of originators like Wire and This Heat, but Lithics do on Tower of Age.