UuVvWwZ
UuVvWwZ
July 7th, 2009
Saddle Creek Records

by Justin Valmassoi

From the opening drone of ‘Berry Can,’ as Teal Gardener delivers the line “I like the blackberries ‘cause they can not entangle me” it’s apparent that A. this is not a typical Saddle Creek semi-autobiographical emo band, and B. this is a band who embraces the “taking drugs to make music to take drugs to” ethos.

An array of sonic tricks relying heavily on a blade-keen rhythm section and Gardener’s barbituates and Red Bull delivery, coupled with her stream-of-consciousness lyrics (“a suit made of sharks teeth making a tooth suit”) make UUVVWWZ’s debut record THE pot brownie dance party soundtrack of 2009.

Apparently, they sound like Deerhoof, at least according to my roommate and some girl I met at Myopic and subsequently went on three successful dates with. I don’t know, because I don’t listen to Deerhoof. Basically, UUVVWWZ split their time between moody bassline art blues and jittery, danceable mayhem, Jim Schroeder’s guitar swooping in for staccato attacks or carving mile-wide trenches for Gardener’s nonsensical musings to dive into while Tom Ambroz (drums) and Dustin Wilbourn (Bass) lock grooves with mechanical precision.

Certainly Gardener is the star of the show, possessed of a surprising range of styles with which to run roughshod over her bandmates’ unpredictable compositions. From coy French Pop cooing to distant, valium-deadened spoken word to manic yelping, she tackles each with relish and panache. Her art-for-art’s-sake approach might throw some people off, but it fits within the framework of UUVVWWZ’s sound. Her most emotionally involved moment comes while singing “You’re hot to death” if that helps put things in some sort of perspective (although she’s pretty into the whole shark teeth making a tooth suit bit, too).

What keeps the record in rotation instead of the trash bin is the band’s irrefutable skill at making notable melodies form a hodgepodge of start/stop rhythms and jazzy art rock noodling, and the fact that it really does sound great if you’re just sitting around stoned in a loft while girls in body paint dance lazily on top of improvised stages.

The only record on the label to which they have any comparison would be Beep Beep’s self-titled debut. Otherwise, they’re pretty much an aberration, signed on merit rather than sonic similarity. It’s a refreshing change for Saddle Creek, whose output has been fairly stale for some time now. As this is a reissue of the band’s debut, expect quite a bit more from them in the near future.

UUVVWWZ will bring the art rock, you bring the pills.