PURLING HISS "WATER ON MARS" Pitchfork 7.3

Well, looky!

Drag City's newest addition, Purling Hiss received a 7.3 rating on Pitchfork this morning for Water On Mars on LP, CD, and CASSETTE (the format of young America), and while we all know that no mere mortal can compete with Thee Mighty Timberlake, we think Mike Polizze would shred Sir Justin...in a dual of the axes, naturally. That, plus Jimmy Fallon would probably have to show up to "help" Mr. N-Sync anyway.

See what the big brains had to say -

"On Water on Mars, Polizze makes an effort to show off both sides of his songwriting-- the heavy, gnarly stuff, but also the slacker-pop hooks that made Public Service Announcement stand out. As a lyricist, Polizze steers clear of deep reflection and introspection. He’s a more of a generalist, blurring everyman rock thoughts ('Everybody wants to have a good time') with a little bit of urban dirtbag dream logic ('Found a god in a parking lot, saw a life in a grain of sand'). His softest turns here, 'She Calms Me Down' and 'The Harrowing Wind',  are as moody and skewed as any of his bedroom tapes.

On the record’s title track, Purling Hiss’ two personalities blend together. The song, which carries on for more than seven minutes, inverts the usual verse-to-jam trajectory. Polizze’s vocals only arrive after five minutes of fuzz-wah histrionics and rather than building to a dense crescendo, Sneeringer keeps the band in line with a steady marching rhythm. It’s heady and blown out, but somehow easygoing at the same time. The ability to slide between these two poles is what makes Purling Hiss’ unique."

Now, take a breather and check out the video for "Mercury Retrograde" right here.