Song of the Day - April 4, 2006

The flow of talent from Seattle seems to be a never ending flood. Kill Rock Stars recently released the debut album from Shoplifting, Body Stories, and at this point in the year I definitely consider it a contender for the best of 2006. To the uninitiated, their music may be a little hard to swallow. However, it is worth the effort. Shoplifting's music glorifies dissonance, asymmetrical rhythms, and frantic beats, musical elements which I crave. As you would suspect the influence of bands like Gang of Four and The Fall loom large over Shoplifting. The album is filled with great songs like the heavily Gang of Four influenced "Talk of the Town," and the track "Untrust/Trust" which brought back memories of DAF, with its repeating chorus and driving beats. The opening track, "M. Sally" gets my vote for song of the day mixing shades of Gang of Four with the intensity of Killing Joke. If I am lucky maybe they will appear at one of the three great musical festivals in Chicago this summer: Intonation, Pitchfork, and Lollapalooza. Click here to listen.