Please Mr Gravedigger – Throw A Beat / 2005 Pluto Records / 5 Tracks / http://www.pmgwillkillyou.com / http://www.plutorecords.com / Reviewed 11 April 2005
Okay, I’ve heard of As I Lay Dying, their album was recorded by someone who worked with The Plot to Blow Up The Eiffel Tower, and in their promotional picture someone is wearing a Crass shirt. Seems good enough to me, and tracks like “Seventeen Year Old Piece of Gold” moves beyond traditional hardcore and into a realm of Temper Temper-style synth-driven rock. The incorporation of multiple harmonies during the track, disconcerting to some, really transforms a string of words into an instrument that works equally well with the band as well as the vocal side of things. There is no denying the prevalence of seventies-arena rock bands in the creation of Please Mr Gravedigger’s EP, as the guitar solo on “The Nine To Five” looks back directly to bands like Kansas and The Outlaws. The more-melodic style of Refused-punk that makes its presence known during “Wales” is only aided by the ever-present synth lines that thread their way through the track. In fact, the synth lines perfectly accentuate the Peart-meets-Freeman style bass lines laid down by Brandon on the track, essentially making a Frankenstein’s monster that orgasms rainbows all over the track.
Even if the hidden track is atrocious (and don’t get me wrong, this sounds like everyone in the band was high when they recorded it), Please Mr Gravedigger shoots off five different blasts encompassing five distinctly different styles in what is a sub-10 minute EP. The ability of the band to jump through stylistic hoops without compromising anything in the way of sound is a hallmark of an intelligent act, and to skirt the line of kitsch (such as using the synth during “Seventeen Year Old Piece Of Gold) without coming back with egg on their face shows a band that knows exactly where the hell they want to go .
Each Please Mr Gravedigger track is like gilded vomit; incredibly valuable and if one looks close enough, chunks of previously encompassed material can be discerned. This goes far beyond wearing one’s influences on their sleeve but is incredibly close to listening to one’s favorite albums right before going into the stereo. Please Mr Gravedigger comes out swinging with this EP and with each successful blow, makes me want to pick up their forth-coming full length just as soon as it comes out. Rough, raw and yet refined at all the best times, “Throw A Beat” is the charming Cinderella before the ball.
Top Tracks: Seventeen Year Old Piece of Gold
Rating: 7.4/10