Search - Poem Rocket :: Psychogeography

Art-rock isn't always a bad word

Clavicle13 | 10/31/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"At first this record comes off like Sonic Youth and Blonde Redhead -- NY art-rock bands that sometimes got a little pretentious and lost track of melody and coherence. Not so with Poem Rocket; even though the band name blows, the music can be stunningly beautiful and low-down garage rock at the same time. Not many folks since the Velvet UNderground have accomplished that. The band's alternating male and female vocals, droning distortion, and insistent drumming coupled with solid vocal melodies could single-handedly revive college rock."

Great band but not their best

Clavicle13 | Boston, MA United States | 09/18/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Although this record, as all of their proceeding ones, is fun to listen to, i feel that it's their weakest yet. The resemblances to Sonic Youth in this record are sometimes very clear- something which is not evident and their previous records. If you wish to listen to an amazing Poem Rocket record i would suggest their first, Felix Culpa, a great compilation of their ealier EPs and 7"s, both creative and very powerful. Unfortunately, the one called Denneye, who seems to've been the noisemaker who was significantly responsible for the power of the songs on that compilation, left the band apparently before its release. Consequently, their subsequent records seem to be missing something visceral when juxtaposed with their first. Nevertheless, Poem Rocket's music remains creative, interesting, and enjoyable.
Anybody who is intrigued or at least mildly enchanted by Psychogeography should definitely check out Felix Culpa.
Their EP the Universe Explained in Six Songs, released between Infinite Retry and Psychogeography, is also an excellent record.
Their shows, by the way, are also quite interesting, and anybody who has the opportunity should see them in concert.
Unlike one of the reviewers below, i have a different opinion of the band's name, which i've always liked a lot. It's a name which, unlike bandnames in general, describes their music reasonably well. Also maybe it connects with their science fiction fixation."