You Can't Always Be Liked [Two-LP] [Bonus Tracks]

by Expert Alterations

Overview

Baltimore's Expert Alterations' debut album is a breathless rush of post-punk angularity, jittery indie pop songcraft, and stripped-down guitar-bass-drums-vocals punk energy. You Can't Always Be Liked was recorded quickly over a three-day span but it doesn't sound sloppy or rushed. The trio are in full command of both their stuttering style and their punchy sound. Patrick Teal's guitar slashes and bites, giving the songs a jolt of solid-state electricity. Alan Everhart's melodic basslines do much of the heavy lifting musically, sparring with Teal's pleasantly yelped vocals like a bantamweight boxer. Paul Krolian's tough-as-steel drumming anchors the songs and slips in some sneaky blows here and there, especially with his lightning-fast tom-tom work. Apart from the occasional keyboard flourish, that's all there is. Three guys doling out sharp, snappy indie pop songs with a maximum of control and hooks that are impossible to duck. The bulk of the album is uptempo tracks that make even the most ungainly indie pop fans want to get up and move around, maybe even dance. The way the group dash through "Sort Out" and the title track will quicken pulses, the thumping "Don't Want to Go" is a happily petulant little song that will inspire air drumming (and features a surprising middle-section breakdown), and when they tie a lovely melody in with the spiky rumble, like on "The Past and You," it's very nearly magical. They balance all the bustling sounds with some more relaxed moments, like the loping "Midnight Garden" and the restrained "Nowhere Slowly," that let the listener take an occasional breath. It's not long before the band take off on another jangling, crashing flight of a decidedly non-fancy nature. Expert Alterations do keep things simple on You Can't Always Be Liked, but that doesn't mean they aren't doing anything interesting. The band deliver on the promise of the debut EP, and employ their (even more) feverish energy, impassioned performances, and jumpy sounds to create some truly fun and frolicsome indie pop with a scrappy post-punk heart. ~ Tim Sendra

Product Details

Release Date:	10/30/2015
Label:	Kanine Records
UPC:	0827175013914
Rank:	151304

Tracks

Disc 1

1. You Can¿¿¿t Always Be Liked
2. Psychic Surgery
3. Midnight Garden
4. Sort Out
5. Don¿¿¿t Want to Go
6. The Past and You
7. Such a Stupid Fool
8. Buildings
9. Well Good for You
10. Nowhere Slowly
11. Alabaster
12. [untilted]

Disc 2

13. You Can¿¿¿t Always Be Liked
14. Psychic Surgery
15. Midnight Garden
16. Sort Out
17. Don¿¿¿t Want to Go
18. The Past and You
19. Such a Stupid Fool
20. Buildings
21. Well Good for You
22. Nowhere Slowly
23. Alabaster
24. [untilted]

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Expert Alterations   Primary Artist
Lauren Shusterich   Vocals (Background)
Alan Everhart   Bass
Paul Krolian   Drums
Patrick Teal   Guitar,Vocals
Haley Dolan   Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Dan Frome   Engineer
Alan Everhart   Group Member
Lauren Barbour   Artwork
Paul Krolian   Group Member
Patrick Teal   Group Member
Roger Seibel   Mastering
Miles Waltuck   Engineer
Archie Moore   Mixing