by David Wilikofsky
Over the course of three previous albums, FACS have continually refined their sound; their latest, Present Tense, is razor sharp. The band rose from the ashes of another beloved Chicago group, Disappears, eventually landing on its current lineup of Brian Case on guitar, Alianna Kalaba on bass and Noah Leger on drums. A little over a year removed from their last statement, Present Tense (released by the always excellent Trouble In Mind) shows a band at the height of its powers. It’s a set of claustrophobic post punk that never takes its foot off the pedal.
The album art tells you much of what you need to know about Present Tense; it’s an abrasive, caustic set of tunes, at times verging on a sonic panic attack. Opener “XOUT” begins as a whisper but steadily builds to a full blown freakout. The band explodes as Chase’s vocals fray at the edges, melting into one another until the song suddenly collapses in on itself. Chase’s spindly, angular guitar line plays cat and mouse with Kalaba’s bass on “Present Tense,” a track perpetually in unsteady motion. Even “Strawberry Cough”, the album’s most accessible song, exudes the same tension as the other tracks; despite the pop sheen, there’s always a sense that everything could descend into chaos at any moment.
There’s a lot more than foreboding atmospherics to reward your attention. While listening to this album over the past few weeks, I’ve been struck by how much the band can do with so little. There’s an economical formula to a FACS song (a brooding, heavy rhythm section, shimmering guitar lines and urgent vocals), yet the results are more varied and complex than the constituent parts might suggest. Their world is one where the rhythmic shifts and complex, interlocking instrumentals of “Mirror” can coexist with droning, sludgy “Alone Without”. It’s easy to miss the breadth of ideas through the doom-laden atmosphere, but the band’s experiments with rhythm and texture are subtly woven into the fabric of the music.
Present Tense may not be the album to throw on at your next dinner party, but I don’t think the band intended it to be easy listening. It is brutal, noisy post punk at its finest, and there’s no one doing this kind of music better.