Economy Of Motion

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Economy of Motion is the debut album by Minneapolis' Colossamite and is an album which resolutley won't fit into any of our contemporary notions of what the US rock underground is all about. For all that, I've found it a total breath of fresh air and have continued to go back to it over and over again. Think Giant Sand, the Slint, think math-rock, think 80s US hardcore. Then think Beefheart - Ice Cream For Crow period - and keep thinking it. That might get you somewhere towards imagining Colossamite. The band is the inspiration of singer and guitarist Nick Sakes, whose previous band The Dazzling Killmen were one of the sharpest, fastest math-rock outfits of the mid-90s, and were heard on support slots across the US with, among others, the Jesus Lizard, Fugazi and Helmet. Sakes put Colossamite together after the Killmen's split, recruiting its members through press ads: drummer Chad Popple, guitarist and keyboardist Ed Rodriguez and John Dieterich, who's credited by EoM's sleevenotes with guitars and manipulations. They recorded the album with Dave Gardner earlier this year and the results are pretty arresting. The whole album has a genuinely improvised feel, with great grinding guitar riffs slashed out against freeform drumming which is barely rhythmic at all. Apparently, many of the songs were written only hours before the recording session. It shows, but in the best possible way. At a time when much of the US rock underground has looked increasingly to the working methods of electronic dance music for inspiration, and have tended to use the studio more and more as an instrument in itself, Colossamite instead delve into rock music's visceral heart for their power. Yes, the resulting music sound almost old-fashioned, but, boy, it rocks.