***Lullaby for the Debris is the second album from Moses Brown of Institute's solo project Peace de Résistance. Those who loved Peace de Résistance's 2022 debut, Bits and Pieces, will be pleased to hear that much of what made that album so memorable—the glam-infused art rock sound, the gritty yet richly textured production, and Moses's bluntly class-conscious lyrics—carries over into Lullaby for the Debris. Yet Lullaby for the Debris also sounds more refined, more timeless than its predecessor, with "40 Times the Rent," "Coddle the Rich," and "Ain't What It Used to Be" all built around chooglin' Lou Reed-style riffs beamed in from the great rock and roll beyond. Elsewhere on the record, Moses' arty side shines through, with "The Funny Man" and "Pay Us More" full of uncanny sounds that invite the listener to bathe in their rich sonic textures. "I Am" and "You Are Absurd" move into a new territory Brown calls "despondent funk," their rubbery bass sounds and eerily progressive soundscapes evoking Station to Station-era Bowie, while the title track closes the album on a pensive note, landing somewhere between '70s minimalist composition and the mellower moments from Eno's solo albums. The real strength of this record, though, is Brown's ever-developing songwriting skills, which meld wry social observation and Crass-style confrontational politics to melodies you'll sing along with for the rest of your life.
LP $33.50
09/06/2024
***"Moses Brown of Texas punk bands Institute and Glue released his first cassette under the name Peace de Résistance - a solo project where he plays all the instruments—in October 2020. That cassette found Brown bouncing his growing songwriting chops off the fuzz-drenched Zamrock sound of Paul Ngozi, Witch, and Amanaz. However, Bits and Pieces—Peace de Résistance’s first full-length and first vinyl release—has a wider vista. Brown describes the sound as 'demented glam rock,' and while you can hear remnants of the Zamrock influence in the sinuously melodic fuzz guitar, the more pertinent frames of reference are Diamond Dogs-era Bowie, 70s Lou Reed, and Iggy’s The Idiot and Lust for Life. Bits and Pieces recalls those records’ potent combination of artistic ambition, street-level rock and roll swagger, and pop charm, but filtered through the DIY punk aesthetics of Brown’s previous work. Lyrically, the album documents life on the fringes in a hyper-surveilled 2020s America, with songs like 'Don’t 1099 Me,' 'We Got the Right to Be Healthy,' and 'Exploitation' wrenching plainspoken poetry from an existence that will be all too familiar to anyone at odds with capitalism. After nine timeless art-rock songs, Bits and Pieces lets us down gently with 'Sitting in Disguise.' This motorik-inspired instrumental offers a rickety, dilapidated update of Neu!’s seamless futurism, implying that the only appropriate response to our predicament is to keep moving forward."—Sorry State
LP $21.95
05/20/2022