Barbwire

from the LP We Are the Wild Beast, Tigerbeat6 Records, 2008



The recent trend in the indie realm towards all things weird, noisy & atonal has yet to convince me of either its relevance or sustainability (I think between the early ‘80s no-wave scene in NYC and Japanese noise-rockers in the ‘90s, people have pretty much taken this as far as you can take it), but the bands found within that milieu do sometimes manage to stir my emotions on the occasional track. One group that rises above the din, in my opinion, is Houston-based collective Indian Jewelry, amassing over 30 members in their ranks and creating some of the most strangely-enticing experimental music this side of New York. The bridge in this track is, admittedly, a bit grating, but the chorus parts are divine, and what a wonderfully potent line: “…when we act as if we’re both made of barbwire, it’s only so we know not to tangle…” Be afraid people, be very afraid---and that goes for the unsettling cover art as well!