REPELLENT SOUNDS : New Humans : self titled
New Humans
Self Titled
limited edition
On a summer evening, sometime back, I had occasion to get a bit muddled in the malodorous maze of Chinatown while seeking out an electronics repair shop. The shop had long before been stripped of its utility as such -- as such skills have long before been striped of their utility as such by ingenuity and commercial revolutions – and had been filled with a large striped blanket of synthetic cloth of fabulous fauve. An ice addled tub of alcoholic favors had taken up residence in the hall. Must occupied what air was not being utilized to carry the heavy sound of a dull drone, but the customers took in the must to fuel erratic conversation at a volume sufficient to occlude the drone, which, to be fair, maintained contact with every ear, nonetheless. This din bled into performance. Beneath the blanket-cum-tent, lingering moments of sonic tension were relieved with fits of noise, color-coded cues conducted the outbursts.
All of that was done in good fun to make for a dead decent way to pass an evening, but now, or since, there have been line-up changes, sundry performances (those also site specific and multi-media and at places including The Swiss Institute, PS 1, Sculpture center, and the Walker Art Center), and finally a recording.
On record, and thus out of context, New Humans are relegated to their own thrilling take on a minimalist approach to abstracted rock. Theirs is a music, of course, best experienced live, but even on record the blend of spastic /still rhythms and unfurling tones stretched and posed over time by core members Mika Tajima and Howie Chen along with a rotating cast of player (Eric Tsai, Danny Barria, and Nick Philips for these recordings) has quite a presence.
In fact, I dare decree, removing the call to disorder guitar flailing of “Ready Set Go” from the ensured, brow-furrowed consideration of the white cube returns the hilarity inherent to the piece (granted watching Mr. Philip’s drum kit slowly creep away from him mid bash made giggle repression the least of one’s concerns on the occasion the kit was less than firmly footed). Portable now, New Humans can strike out at unsuspecting bystanders, police horses, foolishly placed walls and cornerstones, and the attention challenged listener (which means mind the volume knobs and buttons when headphones are clamped to ears in cars of trains because the transition from the tightened-up “You Must Be Free” to the demons out “White” can get you).
Tied together in the specially designed United Bamboo New Humans Bondage Rugby shirt, this group play on Op-pop conventions and look quite smart. Buzzing on record they play on avant-garde tradition (oh, there are bits of Branca, Chatham, Riley here if you’d like to think about on your own time) and can quite smite what you thought you were doing. Some people spend good currency to step outside of themselves for a while, as such a means to an end, New Humans offer quite a sweet little pill. At reasonable prices.
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