by David Wilikofsky
One of my favorite artists of all time is Peter Voulkos. Arguably the most important ceramicist of the 20th century, Voulkos’ work flew in the face of the idea that a bottle or plate couldn’t be a piece of art. His totemic sculptures take the traditional forms of tableware and make them into something seismic and majestic; you can instantly recognize their shapes, but they’ve been transformed into something completely different than the source material.
I’ve been thinking a lot about the work of artists like Voulkos while listening to the latest album by Palberta, Palberta5000, this week. In my mind, the trio of Ani Ivry-Block, Lily Konigsberg, and Nina Ryser are one of the foremost no wave bands of the last decade. The average Palberta track clocks in at under two minutes, filled with spindly riffs and dissonant harmonies. There’s always been a ramshackle charm to their music that’s notably absent on their latest offering. Palberta5000 sees the band putting a pop sheen on their trademark sound, but rather than reinvent themselves as a pop group they have molded pop in their own image. They’ve come out the other end with something both recognizable and alien.
There are still traces of the old Palberta here. The opening notes of “Big Bad Want” deliver the same halting, knotty riffs as previous albums. Older Palberta tracks were content to luxuriate in that discomfort, but this song quickly jumps into a driving rock melody. Despite its more harmonious surface, it’s still undeniably strange. The nearly four minute track features the phrase “Yeah, I can’t pretend what I want” repeated so many times it begins to turn into a surreal, meaningless mantra. It features subtle but constant rhythmic shifts, giving the whole track a slightly off-kilter edge. The band explores these ideas again and again throughout the album; while it’s more melodious than their previous records, it’s still music that refuses to allow the listener to relax.
At the same time, the album opens up new possibilities for the band. “Corner Store” is one of the prettiest songs the band has ever made. The trio’s harmonies melt into one another, buoyed by a sweet and drifting melody. Tracks like the aforementioned “Big Bad Want” as well as others like “Fragile Place” and “All Over My Face” are some of the longest songs the band has ever recorded, allowing the band to stretch out and play with repetition. Some of the album’s most compelling moments see the band seamlessly blending their signature sounds with these newer ones; “Something In The Way” has the same sweetness as “Corner Store” but punctures that tranquility with loud, angular riffs.
This new direction isn’t entirely unexpected. If you’ve paid attention to the band members’ solo works you’ll know that they’ve had keen pop instincts all along (see Konigsberg’s It’s Just Like all the Clouds, which at times brings to mind everybody from Liz Phair to Cher, or the mutant electropop of Ryser’s Paths of Color). Although it claims to be a pop album, Palberta5000 still feels like music only Palberta could make. Only time will tell whether this is an interesting detour or new direction for the band, but without a doubt this reinvention cements them as one of the most distinctive and creative groups operating today.