No labor issues here

Sometimes hard labor pays off, but all the parts aren’t there to be successful.  

Originally from Brooklyn, NY, Parts & Labor has toured with a host of notable indie bands since their formation in 2002. Now the relatively new member of Bloomington’s own indie label Jagjaguwar is releasing its sixth album Receivers.

Their chilled out mix of noise and melody sounds like a combination of Radiohead, the Talking Heads and a little bit of Pink Floyd. 

At first they balance the two quite well. Unfortunately it becomes clear by the end of the seven minute first track “Satellites” that they aren’t quite up to the challenge when the noise starts to take over and the song becomes nothing but annoying.   

Receivers is not easy to describe, most likely because the entire album is easy to ignore.

Most of the songs in this album seem to drift in the background like ready-made dream clouds which makes it perfect for anyone who is looking for relaxing music that will put them right to sleep.

By the end of the album they seem to come together for a moment to create a few last relatively energetic songs like “Wedding in a Wasteland” and “Solemn Show World.” These hold together much better than the first five, but the fact remains that the whole album is just a bit boring.  

“Solemn Show World,” features a catchy beat that distinguishes it from the rest, while “Wedding in a Wasteland” includes a very energetic chorus that makes it standout and become the saving grace of the set.

Parts & Labor do their best to pull it all together on Receivers, but ultimately they fail to make any of the songs memorable, even if they’re an interesting assortment of songs.  

However, in the spirit of promoting a local independent label I would say that if you really enjoy sounds from the noisepunk genre, enjoy really eclectic sounds or just like interesting cover art, this may be worth a listen.