Things have been relatively quiet for one of the loudest groups in surf. While Arno has snuck in a few small EPs, it's been 4 years since the last entry in the Retrofuturisme series/their last LP. But I'd say the extra time has paid off.
For the uninitiated, ADC&TCW play apocalyptically loud surf that may owe as much to groups like Hot Snakes or Refused* than your typical surf fare, though Arno's CV with bands like Stef&Arno and The Irradiates demonstrate plenty of knowledge of actual surf music. I don't know how they do it as just a trio, it hurt my brain trying to figure it out. For the fans, this is a sharpening more than a reinvention. Vol.1 and 2 weren't all cataclysm all the time, and could get pretty experimental in parts. There's sparks of that here as well, breaking things up, giving our brains a moment to breathe and work, but for the most part it's big, loud and aggressive... and probably their best, just by a smidge.
This band's sound is unique and effective enough that an uninspired track is still compelling, but I can't find those uninspired tracks on this record. For Vol. 3 there seems to be a little more sense of how to add that ominous edge not purely by sound, but from chord progressions, harmonies (and dissonance), and menacing keys, and these little spots that feel like an extra 20% of panic are peppered throughout the record, and even though I came out with some favorites (1,7,11), the others feel pretty can't miss too and may at some point overtake my initial picks.
And let's just take a moment to highlight their cover of Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet's "Aunt's Invasion". They seem to have *gotten* everything that makes that song good and cranked it up. I never like saying this sort of thing, I don't think it's what a band sets out to do, but I feel like there's no going back to the original: this is the one I want to hear.
There's one vocal track, which on this site is supposed to be more of a disclaimer that you can hit the skip button, but I think it's a pretty solid punk song with a little more instrumental muscle than I typically expect from the genre.
I don't know how many volumes are in this series, and whether this is the finale. I wouldn't say it sounds like one, though that's mostly because they always sound like they're in the midst of one. I will say we've got a rare trilogy where the third entry is arguably the best. Only other one I could think of was Toy Story 3. So this is Arno's Toys Story 3.
Available digitally as well as CD and vinyl. Though I'm linking to the band's page below, Productions Impossible is somehow charging much less for shipping to the US.
*my references are old here and I would happily accept newer ones
