Queasy Pieces

Chronique

Andrew Anderson has been a veteran of the punk scene since the 2000s with bands such as Hipshakes, Proto Idiot, and Freak Genes, but as Queasy Pieces, he explores the punkness of doing whatever he wants. Anderson recorded the project's debut album while living in Bulgaria, working with synths and drum machines to avoid bothering the neighbors in his apartment building. It's the kind of setting that allows a singular vision to flourish, and Queasy Pieces' odd, spiky outbursts reflect creativity in its rawest state. It's fitting that the keyboards and drum machines that propel "Rapid Growth"s scrappy anti-consumption manifesto sound like they were rescued from the trash heap, but while electronics provide the backbone of Queasy Pieces' sound, it's somewhat misleading to say it's influenced by dance music. "Been So Good to Me" evokes some of the so-choppy-it's-cool restlessness of early Hot Chip, but Anderson sounds equally inspired by classic garage-punk on "Turn That Wagon Around," a Western-themed rant where the organ riffs echo the Seeds' "Pushin' Too Hard" while his yelps recall Oingo Boingo's Danny Elfman. Each of Queasy Pieces' tracks reveal connections to generations of wild-eyed outsiders, whether they come from punk, new wave, or synth pop. With its driving groove and cleanly interlocking parts, "Enter to Win" calls to mind veterans like the Units and Devo, later exponents such as Omni and Metronomy, and many of the groups Mikey Young has worked with (not coincidentally, Young mastered this album). If Wire were zanier, they'd write something like "Sound the Alarm," while "Final Times"' wry detachment in the face of the apocalypse calls to mind Sparks. Nevertheless, Anderson puts Queasy Pieces together in his own way, particularly on the album's curiouser and curiouser second half. Internal monologues become circular dialogues on the cleverly crafted "Seem to Be" and "Vacation," and contributions from Anderson's neighbors make songs like the unhinged nursery rhyme "Good Boy" at once homey and deeply weird. At times, Queasy Pieces threatens to become completely lost in its own world, as on "Cycle," which drifts off on rambling keyboards and chanted choral vocals. Nevertheless, a significant part of the album's charm comes from not knowing what Anderson will do next. Both razor sharp and all over the place, Queasy Pieces is a labor of love and a lot of fun for those who appreciate its eccentricities.
© Heather Phares /TiVo