Pit Er Pat The Flexible Entertainer
After a couple of albums of drab post-rock, Chicago’s Pit Er Pat blossomed into a […]
After a couple of albums of drab post-rock, Chicago’s Pit Er Pat blossomed into a much more interesting proposition on its 2008 full-length High Time, and that bloom continues on The Flexible Entertainer. Similarities between Pit Er Pat and Gang Gang Dance exist, mainly in Fay Davis-Jeffers’ narcotized-siren vocals and Butchy Fuego’s lopsided, postmodern dub rhythms that push each track down unpredictable routes. After a bizarre illbient anti-fanfare, the disc shifts into its most radio-friendly song, “Water,” whose wonky, exotically whimsical dubstep lope casts an unexpectedly beguiling spell. “Emperor Of Charms” stands out here for its rampaging spaghetti-western rave-up, coming off like a Morricone score backed by the Royal Drummers of Burundi. But the bulk of The Flexible Entertainer is animated by psychedelic effects and a no-wave angularity, both filtered through 21st-century dub sensibilities. Pit Er Pat achieve a genuinely distinctive hybrid of styles and this album positions them among America’s most interesting groups.