John Congleton, the leader of Dallas band the pAper chAse, is clearly a disturbed individual. His merry band of psychopaths were responsible for what was easily in my opinion the overlooked album of 2006 "Now You Are One of Us". A terrifying mix of earth shaking bass, jagged guitar, piano, samples and a lush string section all compliment Congleton's lyrics which are one of a kind. His words are like watching an Eli Roth movie, horrific with just enough black comedy to keep you from locking your doors. "Some Day This Could All Be Yours" shifts away from their love for ghosts to fears far more reasonable, and their sound continues to mature.
The band's newest album is simply 10 songs, all dealing with various forms of natural disaster. While some are a little over the top (The Comet especially), many other songs hit home. This is a Rape (The Flood) hearkens back to Katrina and similar disaster and The Common Cold (The Epidemic) is far too real given the current flu hysteria. Easily the most effective song of the ten is "The Small of Your Back, The Nape of Your Neck (The Blizzard), a hilariously chilling ode to Atheism. The song reminds the listener that suffering is all part of "the plan" before breaking into the hymn of "He's got the whole world in his hands". The band's sound remains the same, a Shellac inspired combo of jangling guitars and thunderingly low bass. A new drummer enhances the sound even further, while the use of film/television sampling has been cut back, making the music feel slightly less gimmicky. There are no more interludes either, the construction is a simple on but still highly effective. This easily can be the overlooked album of the year again, but while the pAper chAse continue to stay under the radar, they are still putting out some of the most eerie and interesting music of the decade.
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