Archers Of Loaf

Archers Of Loaf

Reason In Decline

Merge

***As sculpted shards of guitar—tumbling, tolling, squalling—shower the jittery bounce of a piano on opener “Human,” it’s obvious that Reason in Decline, Archers of Loaf’s first album in 24 years, will be more than a nostalgic, low-impact reboot. When they emerged from North Carolina’s ’90s indie-punk incubator, the Archers’ hurtling, sly, gloriously dissonant roar was a mythologized touchstone of slacker-era refusal. But this, the distilled shudder of “Human” is an entirely different noise. In fact, it’s a startling revelation. Eric Bachmann and Eric Johnson, once headstrong smartasses inciting a series of artful pileups on the band’s four studio albums and EP, are now a fluidly complementary, sonically advanced unit. Notably, Johnson’s signature trebly lines peal clearly above the din instead of struggling to be heard. Second, singer-songwriter Bachmann, after throat surgery, relearned how to sing (this time from his diaphragm); as a result, he no longer howls like the angriest head cold on the Eastern Seaboard. And now, his lyrics balance righteous wrath with a complex tangle of adult perspective. In short, this is not your father’s Archers of Loaf, even if you’re a father now who was a fan then. (If that’s the case, congrats on surviving the Plague and getting to hear this fearlessly poignant record, you alt-geezer!) Otherwise, thank your youthful fucking lucky stars, kids! Enjoy Reason in Decline with fresh ears and do as the Archers have been doing: Stay humble, stay informed, express yourself creatively, and try not to lose your goddamned mind while the...

Archers Of Loaf

All The Nations Airports

Merge

***CHECK STOCK!!! Received a 7.6 rating from Pitchfork. With All the Nations Airports, originally released in 1996, ARCHERS OF LOAF were uncompromising in their efforts to push themselves in new directions. They delivered an album that included some of the more simple indie pop songs that had made them famous as well as four instrumental tracks, layered tape loops and even a solo piano song, but the song structures became much more complex. These songs provided a wide range of color and emotion but somehow none of the songs seemed out of place on the album. In STEPHEN THOMPSON’s liner notes for the Airports reissue, he says, “It’s music that exists because it must, with all the bile, beauty, and bluster of youth and all the disaffected paranoia of a perpetually worried mind. The album might not have fulfilled Archers of Loaf’s commercial potential at the time, but that makes an awful lot of sense. The band tended to craft its greatest art when it saw fit to scribble in the margins.” Limited edition LP run on clear vinyl includes downloads for album and bonus content.

Archers Of Loaf

White Trash Heroes

Merge

***CHECK STOCK!!! Received an 8.0 rating from Pitchfork. Like recent reissues Icky Mettle, Vee Vee, and All the Nations Airports, this deluxe edition of White Trash Heroes builds on the classic version with reimagined cover art, new liner notes and bonus audio. ARCHERS OF LOAF almost called it quits after All the Nations Airports due to the strain of touring and the rut of the album cycle (i.e., make record, make video, do interviews, tour, tour, tour; repeat) but decided they would make one more album and see how they felt after that process. They again enlisted the help of BRiAN PAULSON to record the album that became White Trash Heroes. This album found the band adding keyboards to some of their songs as well as a vocoder, and it also included the first song to be sung by a member other than ERIC BACHMANN (MIKE GENTLING sings “I.N.S.”). The band pulled out all the stops to keep its members engaged, but unfortunately, it wasn’t enough and the band decided to make the fall tour of 1998 its final outing. Limited edition LP pressing on white vinyl with downloads for both album and bonus material.

Archers Of Loaf

Vee Vee

Merge

***BACK IN STOCK!!! Received an 8.4 rating from Pitchfork. The first full-length produced by BOB WESTON, Vee Vee was a slight departure from the bombastic noisepop that characterized ARCHERS OF LOAF’s previous work, and the album’s success proved that the band wasn’t just a flash in the pan. The album became their best-selling album to date and landed them on the covers of national publications and at the top of college radio charts across the country. “Harnessed in Slums” and “Greatest of All Time” became anthems of the underground and led to successful tours with the Flaming Lips and Weezer and international tours of Europe and Australia. Remastered by Bob Weston and featuring new liner notes by Magnet magazine editor ERIC MILLER, physical copies of Vee Vee will include sixteen bonus tracks and new cover art re-imagined by graphic artist JAY RYAN. The limited edition LPs are pressed to green vinyl and include a coupon to download the entire album, plus the sixteen bonus tracks featured on the CD.