45 Spiders - Standard Forms of Communication (1998, Deep Reverb)

This lovingly clangy disk of noise pop comes courtesy to us via a departed but doggedly indie-rock trio from Washington D.C. monikered the 45 Spiders. Shades of local yocals Edsel certainly spring to mind, as well as a slew of bands beyond the beltway like Versus and Small 23. The atmosphere on Standard Forms.... is mildy downcast but never dismal. The Spiders are wont to alternate between piqued and relatively contemplative modes, but rarely within the span of one song. As for the overall aesthetic employed here, titles like "Another Polvo Song" speak volumes. Here's a paragraph or so a Washington Post scribe committed to cyberspace about this very album:

The song titles on 45 Spiders' "Standard Forms of Communication" are a little alarming: "Carter Stanley or Jacques Lacan?" and "Naomi Yang's Thoughts on Bass and Life Parallel My Own" would seem to be heftier loads than most indie-rock songs can bear. But then words don't really matter too much to this local trio. Peter Viditio's scraping, surging guitar is usually upfront, and on songs like "All Souls' Day" his vocals virtually meld with the strum.

Like many indie-rock outfits, the Spiders value timbre over melody and tension over release. Still, this album is not all mid-tempo brooding. The trio does hit the accelerator sometimes, usually for songs about its obsession -- indie-rock.

01. Carter Stanley or Jacques Lacan
02. All Souls Day
03. Hot Head Don
04. Sickbed
05. Northampton
06. Club Anthem
07. Hoosegow
08. Pentimento
09. Another Polvo Song
10. Naomi Yang's Thought on Bass and Life Parallel My Own
11. Me and Seamonsters
12. Fuck the Canon

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