Tis the season of reissues and deluxe editions of pre-existing albums. Everybody's cashing in, both new and old bands alike. Despite this, I am pleased to see the Archers of Loaf getting attention again with the reissue of their first album, Icky Mettle, originally released in 1993 (gasp!). In the heyday of indie rock, the early to mid-nineties, they were critic's darlings and most people I knew were cranking their CDs in their cars during roadtrips and while cruising around town. The Archers hailed from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, a scene also boasting of Polvo and Superchunk. They met while attending UNC.
Their music was frequently likened to a more intense, raucous version of Pavement's postmodern pop, and indeed they shared key elements: fractured song constructions, abstractly witty lyrics, clangy guitars, and lo-fi production. More rooted in punk and noise rock, however, the Archers took the dissonance, white noise, and angularity to greater extremes, and played with more enthusiasm in concert. Icky Mettle was a well received then several more accomplished albums followed before the group called it quits in 1998.
Perhaps I am a bit nostalgic for the original days of indie rock, or it's just a quirky connection I have to their lyrics, but "Plumb Line" had to be my track of the week, despite other good releases. "She's an indie rocker, nothing's gonna stop her, her fashion fits...": these are words I have sung under my breath in relation to myself over the years many, many times.
Wax nostalgic yerself, with "Plumb line" here.
Buy your own copy of Icky Mettle here.
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