The Pheromoans: “Grab A Chair”

Things have changed:  The Pheromoans just got serious. Previously a formless gloop of vague, southern English human detritus banging away at out-of-tune instrumentation, the Pheromoans have always made essential, if slightly oblique, records on a myriad of independent labels. For Upset The Rhythm, on their LP Does This Guy Stack Up? the band have scrubbed up to reveal a little detail. And while there’s still enough opacity and murk to satisfy lovers of their deformed bar-room language, the crystal clarity of vocalist Russell Walker’s lyrics and the detailing of the band’s regressive yet inspired playing emphasises that this might just be the best Pheromoans material to date. To highlight their newfound professionalism, “Grab A Chair” features a music video performed by the band, complete with mimed violin bowing and a wonderfully awkward Walker. It’s funny for sure, but the suburban despair outlined by the chorus “Grab A Chair.. you know there’s nothing out there” haunts the comedy, perhaps prompting Russell Walker to escape over a hill in a visual allusion to Bergman’s The Seventh Seal. Yep, things just got serious.

‘Does This Guy Stack Up?” is out on Upset The Rhythm on September 3rd.

Written by Michael Kasparis