Parts Primitive

Unsurprisingly for a band made up of members of Male Bonding and Sauna Youth, the first album by Primitive Parts is an extremely energetic blast of post-punk hooks and tangled guitars. Parts Primitive is exactly what a debut album should be: short, punchy, and to the point with no goofing around and no meandering asides. Starting with the hard-driving "Miracle Skin," the trio rips through its best ten songs, with the dual guitars of Lindsay Corstorphine and Kevin Hendrick playing off each other and the tight-as-a-size-too-small-sweater drums of Robin Christian pushing them along insistently. Add Corstorphine's gracefully shouted vocals and the occasional keyboard flourish and that's it. There's nothing to distract from the simple songs played with tightly wound energy, nothing to get in the way of their gut-punch-tough melodies and garrote-sharp hooks. Pretty much any song here could be plucked out and used as an example of just how well they blend energy and melody, of how they take the past (Wire, Swell Maps) and make it sound alive and new. "TV Wheels" and "Being There" might be the best, the two that have the most electricity coursing through them. The album-ending "Ever Outward" shows a slightly different side of Primitive Parts as they bring the energy level down a bit and cruise through a sweetly sung tune that comes complete with acoustic guitar and a drum machine/synth coda. It works just as well as the rest of the album and wraps the album up in fine style. Parts Primitive is a thrilling first splash for a band that is already operating at very high levels. ~ Tim Sendra