Partisan "The Gothic and the Gospel" (Reason Y)
By Dave Schutz
Thursday. May 04, 12:07 AM
Like a day spent taking drugs, getting really angry, and heading over to Epcot Center.

Taking a cue from their Georgia brethren Macha, Atlanta’s Partisan undertake the dicey task of infusing boring old American rock music with some tastes of the wider world on their debut long-player The Gothic and the Gospel. While Macha’s experiment was primarily a musical one (with damn compelling results most of the time), Partisan draw influence from a more politically charged base, i.e. Fela Kuti, Nina Simone, and Fugazi. Especially Fugazi. Whether the two-note vocal melodies on “Music is the Weapon” and “Georgia Goddamn” (which Ian MacKaye could’ve trademarked, if such a thing were possible) are derived from Fugazi or folk forms, you’d have to ask the band, but it’s no mystery that the guitar sounds are straight off End Hits. Mix with some bongos and you’ve got the makings of a pretty underwhelming shtick that’s a little too reminiscent of At The Drive-In.

But The Gothic and the Gospel seems to grow in spurts as it goes along, the same way that the individual songs have a tendency to build, adding compelling elements as they go along: dramatic melodic streaks a la Dredg, Southern revival-style rants, unsettling, James Brown-esque rhythm guitar tracks. Ripping horns pop up throughout in a mad style made up of equal parts Hugh Masakela and The Stooges’ Fun House. And just when they seem to have locked into a groove, they turn the whole thing on its head with a string of songs that could’ve sprung from the pen of The Paper Chase’s John Congleton. “Money Changes Everything” starts with an evil blend of discordant keyboards and off-key vocals and alternates between that and a tribal, chanted chorus. “A Hunger Artist” is full chaos: mashing pianos with fists, squeals and rattles, disembodied chants. Did I hear a whip crack?

By the time the funky horns came back in on “The Method,” I’d forgotten what band I was listening to. That one, by the way, may be one of the best political songs I’ve ever heard, but I can’t make out all the lyrics (dear Partisan: please make sure they’re included on your soon-to-be website). Just two tracks later, they drop the message for a bit on the instrumental “One Who Has Death in His Pouch.” It’s the musical highlight of the album, showcasing the horns over a jazzy guitar track and some Fender Rhodes. It also highlights David Axelrod and Jim Marrer’s production, which sparkles throughout, forming the mass of elements into a mix that’s at once complex and crisp.

By the time the album’s done, Partisan have added quite a dose of artistry to what seemed like a pretty proletarian record at the outset. It’s a tough thing to accomplish (Fugazi did it, of course), but even though it’s not as streamlined as, say, Macha’s See it Another Way, The Gospel and the Gothic is a hell of a debut.
www.the-partisan.com
www.reasonyrecords.com

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Dave Schutz

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