This was one of those records where within seconds I knew I was gonna love everything this band was doing. Live at Value Sound Studios, the new one from Montreal-area band The Submissives, is utterly unlike 99% of what you're probably listening to. Conjuring up comparisons to The Shaggs, Daniel Johnston, and Temple Songs, these tunes are like dreams of songs, or memories of songs you heard in a dream, from some band you can't ever imagine existing.
Opener "Can't Be Sure" sounds like someone is singing over a taped song where the tape is slowing down and speeding up again. I loved it, of course. "Do You Really Love Me" is like girl group stuff filtered through a vibe not entirely un-twee. It's odd, perplexing music, but it's also damn hynpotic. Elsewhere, "Obsessed" clatters around the room, a riot of melodic ideas and intentionally deadpan vocals clashing on the track. This is all wonderfully endearing, frankly.
The Submissives sound like they are not trying too hard, but I think there's strategy in that approach. It took smarts to sound as dumb as The Ramones did, folks used to say, and the same thinking helps one get the vibe here on Live at Value Sound Studios. More pleasing to the ear than anything The Shaggs ever put forth, there's a somewhat similar thing happening here, where the musicians play as if they have just picked up their instruments for the first time. Rather than sound amateurish, the music of The Submissives retains a purity, I think, that is awfully charming. I loved this record.
Live at Value Sound Studios by The Submissives is out now. Details below.