!!!
Eleven years ago (half the lifetime of your average Rockfeedback employee, you’ll note), a band formed. Well, many bands formed. But one of them was !!!. As has been well documented, their name is not unpronounceable – far from it – if anything, it’s over-pronounceable, given that it can be expressed as any three repetitive sounds. Commonly (now almost exclusively) called ‘Chk Chk Chk’, based on the sound of a CD skipping, you could also call them ‘Pow Pow Pow’, ‘Tick Tick Tick’ or any other combination of repetitive noises. But probably not ‘Wet Wet Wet’. Somebody’s already taken that one.
Before !!! there were lots of things (the big bang, the renaissance, the holocaust etc.). Some of these things were the bands Black Liqourice, The Popesmashers and The Yah Mos, touring buddies who would eventually disband only to reform as disco / funk / punk / rock behemoth !!!. The band were (and still are) based across the USA, in Sacremento, Portland and New York, and cut their first album (‘!!!’) for Gold Standard Laboratories in 2000.
They then spent three years… well, jamming around and having a bit of a giggle, presumably. But it would be the juicy produce of one of these lengthy jams (the band at the time favouring improvisational explorations rather than conventional songwriting techniques – no verse-bridge-chorus yawn fests here) that would truly catapult the band in to the real of international recognition. 2003 saw the release of the now legendary single ‘Me and Giuliani Down By The Schoolyard’. It, and the subsequent album ‘Louden Up Now’, released by Warp records, garnered huge attention on both sides of the pond.
Returning with a more song based album this very week, ‘Myth Takes’ was produced by the band’s own Justin Van Der Volgen and finds the band blending incessantly catchy choruses and down tempo ballads with their incendiary dance rock. It’s killer, dude.
***COMING SOON*** - We sat down with Mario from the band last week to discuss the new album and the general mess the world finds itself in. Lovely fellow he is too. Details imminently.
!!! OFFICIAL!: Note: if you search for ‘!!!’ in Google, nothing happens. Which is cool. Lucky we’re here to tell you exactly where the band’s official site is, then. Flashy it is too. With music and all sorts.
!!!’s MYSPACE!: Lots and lots of photos of the boys dicking around. Giggle-worthy.
!!! @ TOUCH AND GO!: The band’s US label – and one of the greatest cult imprints in the world.
WARP RECORDS: Mind you, as UK labels go, Warp’s up there with the most brilliant of ‘em.
TAKE ECSTASY WITH ME: !!! invite us to get mashed up on class A’s. Usually we wouldn’t…
LIVE @ LONDON ASTORIA: Caught at the end of the ‘Louden Up…’ tour, an incendiary set gets London’s arse shaking appropriately.
HEART OF HEARTS: First single from ‘Myth Takes’, and as fine a slice of dance music as will find its way on to vinyl this year. Win a copy of it on 12” picture disc in the ‘competitions’ section below!
!!! ON YOUTUBE:
HEART OF HEARTS:
HELLO? IS THIS THING ON?:
SUNDAY – LIVE AT LA ROUTE DU ROCK, FRANCE, 2005: