Preoccupations

Add Date: September 13

Artist: Preoccupations

Album: Preoccupations

Label: Jagjaguwar

Genre: Post-punk

Comments: In the parlance of our times, Jagjaguwar is absolutely killing it this fall; Angel Olsen is burning up our Top 30 chart here at WLUR, Justin Vernon is releasing a new Bon Iver record, and the Preoccupations (FKA Viet Cong) are following up their excellent self-titled debut with...their self-titled sophomore release. For those of you who aren't in the know, it's been a strange year for the Preoccupations, who finally changed their name in April -- months after announcing their intent to do so -- due to the sensitivity surrounding their previous moniker. As if that ordeal weren't enough, though, certain members of the post-punk quartet saw long-term relationships end while others left home behind. All in all, it seems to have been a fairly taxing year for the Preoccupations, but rather than succumb to the mounting pressure, the band collected themselves to put together an astonishing album.

Refining their post-punk style, the Preoccupations deliver sneakily catchy tunes driven by Mike Wallace's pulsing drums and Matt Flegel's idiosyncratic basslines while Scott Munro and Daniel Christiansen's guitars glisten and gleam as Flegel croons, his distinctive voice delivering the aesthetic appeal of Joe Casey and Andrew Savage...but without the poetic weirdness. Occasionally, quintessentially '80s influences peak through the post-punk angst; standout track "Anxiety" begins with a minute of ambient noise and a rumbling first verse before synths break through to provide a delicious hook while Dan Boeckner's (Wolf Parade) guest appearance partway through the gargantuan "Memory" combines with soaring synths and an uplifting bassline to evoke what Charlie Kelmeckis might have dug on a Saturday night.

Although the album's timing is relatively uneven with the eleven-minute-long "Memory" being followed by two tracks which clock in under two minutes each, no moment feels superfluous or dull. "Degraded" follows the blueprint established by "Anxiety" as Flegel's voice bursts through a minimalist opening with the delectable lyric "We're throwing caution to the wind / We are consistent in our flaws." Overall, Preoccupations have delivered their second above-average record in as many years, effectively establishing themselves in this reviewer's mind as one of the hottest "underground" bands out there. One of 2016's best.

Recommended Tracks: 1, 5, 3, 4, 8

DNP: none