STATS, Crowned: Doing the Math
Posted in Reviews on December 27th, 2010 by JJ KoczanWhen last they were heard from, the all-caps Brooklyn math/noise rock trio STATS had just issued a three-song sampler EP of their heady wares. Some things, it seems, haven’t changed at all, as the instrumental unit deliver three new cuts in the form of the Crowned EP on The Path Less Traveled Records. The songs, which total just under 21 minutes, are a logical extension of the prior material, their angularity and linear structures walking a fine line between technical prowess and song flow, and presented with cleaner production and full jewel case artwork, Crowned gives an overall aura of a tighter, more established unit.
It’s a short release, and one wonders if STATS aren’t just going to adopt the EP as their formal modus operandi, realizing that a full-length of this kind of tech material would be asking a lot of their audience. Robert Fripp once said of his soundscapes that the average listener could only take about 20 minutes of it at a time, then they needed a break, and if we apply the same to STATS, then Crowned is right on target. Opener “Guthy Renker” twists ably and offers flashes of noise rock groove, weighted by the bass of Tony Gedrich, who also adds a piercing noise flourish near the 1:50 mark. I’d be lying if I said it was pleasant to the ear, but it serves its purpose. Guitarist Joe Petrucelli doesn’t shred or try to fill the space vocals might otherwise occupy with lead lines, instead setting and keeping the course of sub-noodling scale work, drummer Hank Shteamer deftly maintaining pace in purposefully awkward time signatures.