ALBUM REVIEW: Discount Wax Museum – Pretty Please

When you think about Atlanta, harsh noise rock doesn’t exactly come to mind. Not something like PRETTY PLEASE’s Discount Wax Museum. It’s deliberately so far out of the Atlantan realm that it’s remarkable that it sounds as good as it does in just six tracks. Though the trio are still small their sound is cacophonous and unrelenting — produced by Ryan Boesch (FOO FIGHTERS, WHORES, MELVINS) the quality that you receive is second to none. Can they make an impact in just six songs though?

Discount Wax Museum’s tone is balanced, making its biggest moments much more satisfying than if it was constantly over-bearing. Rock Is Dad and White Christ bob between noise rock, with grunge elements forthcoming in the latter, incorporating screams that sound like tearing paper by the ream — you feel it too. A two-minute build up, which cues the beginning of the album mellowing out, in Curses has that same pay off but over a longer period of time, vocals begin to soften slightly and it isn’t brutal for a brief moment. 

The production of Boesch really is in a different class; Discount Wax Museum is an average album but has the effect of being luxury jewellery instead of the plastic “diamond” earrings that you bought from the car boot. That mask is disarming when you want to criticise it so the best you’ll be able to give is a backhanded compliment. There’s definitely merit in conceptualising a whole record that by all accounts is put together really well, but would you like it as much if a producer as prolific as Boesch wasn’t involved? It’s a positive thing that a band this small has the opportunity to work with a very experienced producer, but arguably a scratchy DIY production aesthetic would build so much more of an atmosphere throughout the record. Tone and production need to go hand in hand, complimenting each other as they chase the other’s tail, people aren’t looking for clarity in the sonics of a noise rock record. 

All it takes is for some creases to be ironed out in the future for PRETTY PLEASE, connect the dots and they’ll have something that’s really on brand. They don’t need to be so polished and squeaky clean sounding when their content already establishes them as something that should be grimy, have sharp edges — be something that people would be a little weary to touch. 

Rating: 6/10

Discount Wax Museum is set for release on July 21st via self-release.

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