My Disco

My Disco are at their best when they're hammering on a single note. That's exactly the reason why Little Joy (the third LP from the Melbourne, Australia trio) should please fans of ultra-minimal, über-primal, patience-testing music. Coming off like Liars (minus the disco-punk background), Shellac (on morphine) or Slint (on morphine and locked-groove vinyl), songs like "Closer" and "Turn" are remarkable for just how minimal and lumbering Liam and Benjamin Andrew's guitars can sound, while "Sunray" and "Lil' Joy" are just as startling for their sparse, unilateral arrangements. Produced by Steve Albini, Little Joy works off Rohan Rebeiro's tribal/clockwork-like drumming and Liam's unprejudiced vocals, which seemingly drift in and out in a non-descript manner. My Disco refuse to stray from the script on Little Joy ― the album is predictably one-dimensionally difficult and adventurous ― but when you're beating someone over the head, how many tricks do you really need to get the job done?