Search - Erase Errata :: Other Animals

No-wave punk totally refreshed

05/29/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"No one has reviewed this yet?! What a fantastic album! Not perfect, but what is (MBV's Loveless excepted)? 5 stars nonetheless. Haven't had my ears cleaned in quite this fashion since Talking Heads' More Songs About Buildings And Food.Bouncy, angular no-wave punk. Smart youthful lyrics. Great beats and riffs. Semi-snarling semi-snotty yet playful vocals. Saw them live last fall in a dark tiny hot-as-hell room, it was heaven, could almost have been CBGB's in the late 70s.If NYC-style underground postpunk gets it up for you, you will love Erase Errata's Other Animals."

This album is pretty good, but theyre better live

jaegere | midwest represent | 02/22/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Being asked to open up for Sonic Youth has got to do something for your ego. With so many different descriptions tossed around about Erase Errata, one cannot help but wonder what the buzz is about. What is sometimes indicative of a good band, Erase Errata's debut album, Other Animals, is the type of album that takes the listener time to get to know.
Erase Errata formed in San Francisco in 1999 and consists of four women: Jenny Hoysten (vocals, trumpet) Ellie Erickson (bass), Bianca Sparta (drums), and Sara Jaffe (guitar). Shortly after they began jamming together, the band produced ten original songs. In early 2000, before Erase Errata was formed, they toured with noise rockers Melt Banana and NY-based Black Dice. They released Other Animals, on Troubleman in October of 2001, but did not catch fire until touring with Sonic Youth and Le Tigre last summer.
The band has claimed that many of their songs are made up on the spot, and the diversity of this album certainly lends itself to that. For when you listen to this album, you can compare and contrast between the experimental songs and the more polished ones. Most of the songs in the beginning of the album, including "Tongue Tied" and "Marathon," are the most structured and danceable. With staccato rhythms, syncopated beats, and early David Byrne-esque vocals, many of these songs are quite catchy.These songs remind me of early 1980's New York new wave music, but I find it uncannily similar to LA punk rockers, the Minutemen. "Delivery," complete with an organ in the chorus, sounds like British second wave ska. Hoysten's jerky vocals on this song resemble 1970's The Selector so much that I want to dig up my Selected Selector Selections album, even though I've sworn off all ska The guitar part in "French Canada" reminds me of Bikini Kill, while less fast songs like "Fault List" remind me of early Sleater Kinney. The vocals in most Erase Errata songs, though distinct, aren't always easily recognizable. But listen closely to "Fault List," and you can make out abstract poetry very Kim Gordon circa Washing Machine.
If you enjoy structure-less songs with a lot of noise, then you might enjoy about 40% of the tracks on Other Animals. Though improvisation often comes off as rather pretentious to me, (especially when the band improvising fails to rock) certain seemingly improvised tracks on this album stand out. These unique songs include the Devo-esque,
"Goin' Insane," and the harmonic/chaotic "Gross Grace." Other noisy songs like "A Passion for Acting" just hurt my ears and get on my nerves. Maybe this is because I'm not hip enough to appreciate the "I just picked up and instrument for the first time" sound.
Though the sound production on this album is not always the greatest, and the band could have benefited from cleaner cuts, Other Animals, is one of the more unique debut rock albums I've heard. With music that sometimes sounds like the perfect punk rock version of the Velvet Underground and Captain Beefheart, I don't think it will be long until Erase Errata becomes an underground favorite."

Erase errata? be still my heart

theodosya | chapel hill, nc | 07/24/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"the first time i saw erase errata, the drummmer was wearing a fuzzy bear suit. so before they even played a note, i was already won over. then the show started, and i was lost to the world. imagine my disapointment upon hearing that they had not yet recorded anything. imagine my excitement later that year when i found their newly released album at the radio station. it includes my favorite lyric ever written: "we are the reason for the gated communities." when i saw them again last summer, my blind devotion to this amazing band grew only stronger. did i mention that one of them plays trumpet? plus, they are super cute!"