Let’s just get that out of the way: IfIHadAHiFi’s Nada Surf EP +3 is about as influenced by The Ting Tings as Radiohead’s King of Limbs was inspired by Justin Bieber. Nada Surf EP +3 is inspired by roller derbies, WWE wrestling, robot uprisings, and crooked politicians (*cough* Scott Walker *cough*). Those subjects all have one thing in common: hostile confrontation.
IfIHadAHiFi’s no stranger to confrontation. Last year, AV Club: Milwaukee published a tribute article for the homegrown band’s 10th Anniversary as told by friends and fans. Stories of members’ disregard for the safety of their instruments, themselves, and their fans in live shows dominated the article. Reviews of concerts commonly tell stories of Dr. Awkward spitting into the crowd or the band screaming at each other only to suddenly break into the next song with a “1, 2, 3, 4!” YouTube interviews are just one big laugh, with the band berating each other, fans, their idols and their enemies. This is a modern band with the attitude of an early-90’s Butthole Surfers – They’re out to have a good and hilarious time and anyone who gets offended along the way will just be the subject of more laughs.
IfIHadAHiFi is the voice of Milwaukee. Nationally, a lot of people don’t take Milwaukee seriously as a city, but Milwaukeeans are pretty quick to defend it. Whereas the Clevelands of the world often acknowledge their crappiness, Milwaukeeans enjoy their way of life and wouldn’t change it. The tailgating (read: drinking), Brewers games (read: drinking), Summerfest (read: drinking), brewery tours (read: drinking ), holiday parties (read: drinking) and State Fair (read: drinking) are all parts of the city life they enjoy and will defend. IfIHadAHiFi is a band that likes their music, attitude, and yes, even their city, and they could care less about whether you play their CDs or use them to scrape your oven, but they may send you off with a new facial feature or two.
This isn’t to say there aren’t people out there that love their music on a national and international level; Pitchfork gave their debut Ones and Zeroes, a 7.5, while Pop Matters gave their latest, Fame By Proxy, a 7 out of 10. Nada Surf’s decision to name their recent cover-album If I Had A Hi-Fi was a story that resulted in the band gaining a good amount of exposure and new batch of fans. They recently played dates with a reunited Archers of Loaf, famed noise rockers of the nineties.
IfIHadAHiFi isn’t going to slow down any time soon, as new EP Nada Surf EP + 3 (yes, they did reciprocate) demonstrates. The band’s talent has always come in delivering yelling-in-your-face collaborative verses over swirling guitars, and snares and cymbals that they must have to buy in bulk because Dr. Awkward beats them mercilessly. Their choruses are insanely catchy, but delivered over dark instrumentation that gives them a very different meaning – which I think is the aspect that the critic that compared to them to The Ting Tings definitely failed to take note of. When they sing “I want to be what you desire,” over crude bass and pounding snares, I don’t think you’re supposed to think ‘aw, that’s cute.’ If you want to make comparisons, the band resembles At the Drive-In when they were at their loudest, especially on “Minotaur Documentation,” and These Arms Are Snakes stylistically on vocals.
Yes, the songs go essentially at one collective speed and volume: Rip your head off. But it’s called noise rock for cripe’s sake – you’re not signing up for ballads. They’re making seriously fun music that says something important disguised as something harmless and full of taglines. I’d say IfIHadAHiFi isn’t screwing around, but they are, just in a different way. Yes, there’s a Black Sabbath-styled song that tells the story of a bounty on wrestler Ric Flair’s head (who drummer Dr. Awkward is definitely obsessed with), but it seems to go a little too well with the political situation of Wisconsin. Likewise with “X-13D”, which includes lyrics like “Our troops are storming the castle,” “They found a backdoor into the service industry,” and “Into my head the devil plans to sing.” Somehow, despite the robotic noises, I don’t think this song is about artificial intelligence in the traditional sense, and I think that devil might have a very generic human name and well-maintained haircut.
“Arson, You Let Me Down” is probably the highlight of the album, as it features a harmonic chorus, some seriously wicked build-ups and break-downs, and very catchy shout segments of “It’s a shame and a drag!” IfIHadAHiFi are definitely not talentless hacks – they may be self-proclaimed A-holes, but they have immense talent on their instruments and they do it all while sharing vocals. They use dissonance to their advantage and are the perfect blend of nerd, punk, and prog. Synths weave in and out, which don’t make the songs less intimidating but do seem to indicate that the band is enjoying singing about your downfall from sinister people in a position of power, uprisings of the oppressed, your own stupidity or pitiful nature, and, if you’re Ric Flair, by whoever takes up the bounty.
IfIHadAHifi are ten years and five albums in (How many do The Ting Tings have?), and if anything, they’re getting more intense. If you’re looking for something you can have on in the background while you read or try to sleep, this isn’t it. But if you’re looking for an album where hard work and a love for the music the band makes comes through, Nada Surf EP +3 is a good place to start. But seriously, IfIHadAHiFi could care less if you get their album.
7.6/10
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