There are some bands whose heartache and triumphs transmit like whispered confessions. Even with a fast tempo, meaning is veiled in metaphor, shrouded in reverent angst and symbolism.
Thankfully, Durham’s I Was Totally Destroying It is nothing like those bands. Here, there are no plaintiff cries or bedroom sobs — it’s all riffing guitars, sharp barbs and the kind of honesty that’s so true it hurts.
That’s not to say that Preludes, the group’s adrenaline-spiked latest, lacks any of the introspection or depth that its competitors flaunt.
Instead, I Was Totally Destroying It spits epithets and observations like bullets, with a rapid-fire delivery that leaves layers to examine even after several listens.
The album’s instantaneous appeal is one of its strongest — and most easily recognized — assets. While that’s nothing new, especially in the wake of 2009’s likeable Horror Vacui, Preludes is exceptional in its relentless charm.
Opener “Wrecking Ball” is a distorted, tangled ode to destruction, be it self-targeted or otherwise, and from the first harmonized lilt of its R.E.M.-esque vocals, it sets out on a warpath of catchy choruses and refrains that aim as much for your feet as your brain.
I Was Totally Destroying It’s brand of pop-rock is of the tightly wound variety, full of bouncing rhythms, skittering keyboard progressions and anxious, frantically sung lyrics. While songs like “Control” deal with the helter-skelter nature of relationships, life and the insanity therein, there is no whining on Preludes. This is the smart person’s lament, one that’s as cathartic as it is contemplative.
For a set of songs that are as gritty and honest as they are engaging, the album’s smooth coat of studio luster comes as somewhat of a surprise.
Tracks like “When Chaos Comes” strike an ideal balance between pristine male-female harmonies and throbbing guitars, and the synthy, Joy Division influence on “Out Tonight” never veers into stylization.
