Charlie Looker busily collaborates to myriad projects that flirt with abrasive, experimental, and/or extreme sounds around the city, but it’s BTW Extra Life that allows him space to fully express his singular blend of dexterous, classically inclined modal melodies, dense and winding composition, and a dark hued, metallic heaviness that hammers hard despite the band’s tendency to steer clear of guitar distortion. And the shit jams live, where Charlie coaxes a sort of controlled violence from his precise guitar playing and adenoidal vocals. In the waaaaay creepy Peaking Team-directed video for “Head Shrinker” he plays the title role, but instead of controlled violence from a guitar he’s coaxing from his psychotherapy patient discharge that’s both emotional and surreal. (Surreal = pulling gold coins from a gash in his belly.) I guess the video’s shifting between stark black & white and a fantasy masked sax player, or depiction of Charlie as a fastidious doctor with a quiet menace, sort of touches on that control/violence dichotomy in Extra Life’s music. But mostly it’s just super unsettling and probably the perfect look for Extra Life. Watch it:
Made Flesh is out 3/30 via Loaf. The “Head Shrinker” single will be out via Socket Records, with a remix by Tyondai Braxton. A few MP3s, including the previously posted “The Ladder”…
…and the ode to my favorite article of clothing:
They’re great live:
02/20 – Brooklyn, NY @ Death By Audio
02/22 – Providence, RI @ Machines With Magnets
02/23 – Kittery, ME @ Buoy
02/24 – Montreal, Quebec @ Green Room
02/25 – Toronto, Ontario @ Terange
02/26 – Ann Arbor, MI @ Arbor Vitae
02/27 – Detroit, MI @ Division Gallery
02/28 – Grand Rapids, MI @ DAAC
03/01 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle (free show)
03/02 – Minneapolis, MI @ 7th St. Entry
03/04 – Vancouver, BC @ Honey Lounge
03/05 – Seattle, WA @ Comet Tavern
03/06 – Seattle, WA @ Josephine
03/07 – Portland, OR @ Ground Kontrol
03/09 – San Francisco, CA @ Hemlock Tavern (w/Ora Cogan)
03/10 – Sacramento, CA @ The Hub (w/ Appetite, Afternoon Brother)
03/11 – Oakland, CA @ 21 Grand (w/ Religious Girls)
03/12 – Irvine, CA @ UC Irvine
03/13 – Los Angeles, CA @ Echo Curio
03/14 – San Diego, CA @ Radio Room (w/ Vaginals, Witt)
03/16 – Tucson, AZ @ Solar Culture (w/ Xiu Xiu)
03/17 – Phoenix, AZ @ Trunk Space (w/ Past Lives)
03/18 – El Paso, TX @ Dominic’s Piano Bar (w/ Past Lives)
03/20 – St. Louis, MO @ Lemp Arts
03/21 – Cincinnati, OH @ CS13
03/22 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Garfield Artworks
03/23 – Cleveland, OH @ Now That’s Class
03/26 – Baltimore, MD @ Windup Space
03/27 – Queens, NY @ Silent Barn (w/ Skeletons, Nine Eleven, Thesaurus, Zs)
You Might Also Like
 Extra Life – “First Song” Video |  Extra Life – “Righteous Seed” |  Laurel Halo Remixes Extra Life |  The 20 Most Overlooked LPs Of 2010 |
 |
 |
Leave a Reply
Sign in Sign in with FacebookYou must be logged in to post, reply to, or rate a comment.
You know, if a band is weird, okay. But why do some bands try so hard to outweird every other band? It’s not a contest, dude. You cannot win anything.
No.
I don’t understand why when something is perceived as “weird” people assume that they are TRYING SO HARD to do that, like it’s unnatural. Open your mind and think that not everyone thinks the same things sound good. You don’t have to like it but I see this happen with so many musicians who are doing something new and different, there are always a large amount of people who actively dislike the band just for making music, like it’s offensive. Do you think this video is random and not thought out? How the imagery connects to the lyrics? Does it seem half-assed or simple. Music that isn’t accessible on the first listen isn’t necessarily bad.
I get the video’s social commentary. I listen to lots and lots of obscure bands that the average person would reject as “weird.” That’s why I visit this site. However, the vocals here (more than any other element) really cross a line. This is coming from a guy who listens to Okay. We can talk all day about being “open-minded,” but at some point, one can actually become so preoccupied with being unique that the message/song is compromised. I know the vocals are meant to be creepy, but really they’re just hilarious. The band tried too hard, and if they were sincere about making a serious statement, that is too bad because most seasoned listeners are not going to be able to listen to this more than once. Hopefully, the person who pops up on every message board to say, “To each his own” or “Everyone had a right to his/her opinion” will not join this discussion.
To each his own
it’s like a mad TV skit or something.
“what petals…LIKE A VAGINA…LIKE A VAGINA”
Um, alrightie then.
longest shittiest 4 minutes ever. definitely agree that it’s like watching mad tv.
seriously, you’d have to be the angriest, nerdiest person on earth to enjoy this.
I really enjoyed that.
maybe the real contest that’s going on here is who will be the first troll to leave a negative comment on stereogum? but misdirected sadness and useless criticisms of these negative comments are pretty ineffective…yawn. All the music makers, video makers, artists, keep doing what you’re doing. To someone out there it’s a contribution.
First off, all the naysayers here are obviously LAZY minded.
This video and song are masterpieces. Charlie’s voice isn’t “weird” it’s unique and very beautiful. Does anyone here know what melizmer even is? Oh yeah, I’m sure they spent all of their years of hard work and rehearsal just so they could win the “weirdest band” award. haha!
“seasoned listeners” won’t be able to listen to this more than once??? What the fuck dude you’re an idiot! Tyondai Braxton is remixing this song and so is Foetus. Do you think they are seasoned listeners? I mean, Tyondai gets commisioned by Kronos Quartet and plays in Battles.
Did you even catch the dark humor throughout the video? There’s all kinds of mystical/religious references that are totally thought provoking. I say, if you’re not into listening to music created by virtuosic composers like Charlie, you’re probably listening to very boring-ass music.
Saying that someone’s vocals “crosses the line” shows that you are a very limited minded listener and you only like music that doesen’t cross the line.
Why do you guys watch MAD TV? That sucks! Stop wasting your life! This was nothing like it. The video is shaped around a song unlike MAD TV. And you know, it’s pretty awesome that an underground band as unique and talented as they are branched out and made a real nice video with good lighting and cutting-edge production.
Exra Life is actually setting new trends…HELLO!! WAKE UP AND LEARN SOMETHING ABOUT MUSIC! look up melizmer man, charlies actually emphasising this technique along with a plethera of other techniques and themes.