The addition of Steve Shelley to the line-up of Chicago psych-rock/kraut-rock band, Disappears, pays immediate dividends on “Replicate,” the lead track from their forthcoming release, Pre Language. Rarely has the outfit come off so forceful and so powerful as with the Sonic Youth drummer behind the kit. It’s not just Shelley, however, that makes “Replicate,” stand out compared to the rest of the band’s output. Everyone else (Brian Case, Jonathan Van Herik, and Damon Carruesco) feeds on Shelley’s intensity, too. As a result, Disappears sounds less like the that group on their second release, Guider, the group too often content to faithfully and studiously rework old Neu! tracks, and more like a band intent on finding their own way, carving out a space between heavy guitar-based grooves and electronic repetition.
Pre Language by Disappears will be out March 1st on Kranky Records.
