Search - Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower :: Love in the Fascist Brothel

Trashy goodness

Yum-Yum | 06/05/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Plot obliterates any fears of a sophomore slump within seconds of the Gorilla Biscuit's trumpet intro, announcing the arrival of a riff that's the audio equivalent to a bar room brawl.



On Love in the Fascist Brothel, they've replaced the jazz and DC punk with sass and swagger. Even though every track sounds like they're getting in fist fights with their instruments, the production's a definite step up from Disseration's. Double layered vocals and a monstrous rhythm section mold the record's chaos into a sledgehammer, a powerful tool which will no doubt cause blunt force trauma in inexperienced hands.



Maybe not the greatest analogy, but that rawness and grit of this record are what a lot of reviews I've read focus on, and what turns a lot of listeners off, and it's important to emphasize Plot knows exactly the kind of effect they're creating, and that they've created a record that's both supremely raw and hi-fi.



They've lost some fans by tossing out the jazz-punk on their last record, but this really just shows how deep the well of creativity this group taps into is. Despite the drastic turn in sound, this record stands as a complete artistic statement; it pummels the senses and looks into the future, instead of relying on their limited but already impressive discography. They never really defined themselves as jazz punk anyways, it was more the work of lazy journalists, so judging them by that label is unfounded. There's still some great sax work on the record, the parts are just more defined and have less of a free jazz feel than on Dissertation.



This album isn't just worth listening to for the piss, sweat and sass bleeding from every second of its 24 minute run time, these boys have the song writing skills to back up their attitude. Every song is distinct with its own riffs, hooks and flow.



Overall, I don't know if this is a better record than Dissertation, but it's definitely better made. The riffs and lyrics are more refined, and the production is a few notches up.

I would have liked more of the record to be up-tempo like Dissertation, instead of the trashy stomp that runs through a lot of the tracks, but there's plenty of grit and energy to go around.



I'm going to have to disagree with the Blood Brothers, Hella and Liars comparisons. Even though they seem to have a shared fan base, Plot and Blood Brothers seem pretty far apart on the post-hardcore spectrum. They're both a little "gay" live, but Plot's vocals share none of the raspiness or poetic nightmares spun by the BB's dual lyricists, and the instrumental's don't have that much rhythmically or dynamically in common, except that they're loud and trashy.



Hella, I just don't get that one at all. And the Liars, MAYBE, if their sound was a lot more intense and rounded out. But still, such a comparison doesn't do Plot justice, whether or not you do or don't like the Liars.



I was hesitant about this record before I heard it, since I was disappointed by their EP, and saw the bad puns in the track listing, and was worried that the satirical Nazi imagery would be too thin of a metaphor to stretch over an entire record. But so far, it's my favorite of 2005. Plot's successfully shown they'll have plenty of longevity on the post-hardcore scene, by releasing consistently great records which break new ground for the group, and pay homage to 30 year old punk heroes without sounding like they're beating a dead horse."

Hate the Plot

E.C. | 05/31/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I recently saw these guys live with the Blood Brothers, and I was blown away. Previous to that I had very little knowledge of The Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower, I knew they were opening for Blood Brothers so I took the time read about thier sound and performance, but took little stock in what I found.

Suffice to say, after thier live performance (apparently they are looking to start a sexual revolution of sorts) the Plot fast became one of my favorite bands. I bought Love in a Fascist Brothel after the show, and promptly inserted into my cd player that night.

As far as sound goes...it's a noisy album, I can't help but compare them to Blood Brothers. The songs are like rollercoasters, they go from one sound to the next and are over before you know what really hit you (the longest song is little over 3 minutes, while the shortest being alittle under 1 and a half). Admist the noise there's this sort of dancey element, it definately makes you want to move. The lead singer has a very 'punk' vioce, it's snotty and defiant and works very well within the album. Lyrically (and image wise) they remind me a little of Dead Kennedys (this could possibly just be because I'm a big DK fan) in that sort of ironic political way, but they are more abstract in thier lyrics.

One thing that I didn't like initially, but I've grown accustom to is that the singers vioce seems to be drowned out. I don't know if it was on purpose or just bad production."