There is something very cathartic about lofi punk. The lower the recording quality, the simpler the ideas, the better. One of the things that I find appealing about the garagier side of the style is the lack of aggression. Or rather, the centering of anxiety over rage. Don't get me wrong, I love furious music ... but I definitely feel more anxious than angry most days, so privileging one over the other in terms of mood suits me just fine. On that note, I've been giving Australia's Billiam a whirl lately and his record 8 Hours In Billiamvills is definitely simpatico in the manner I've just described. It's belligerently catchy and obnoxiously endearing, in addition to just sounding like a nervous wreck. Billy has one of those nasally, shout-talk styles of singing that's actually very reminiscent of Jon Spencer of Jon Spencer's Blues Explosion (but more tolerable). Even if Billiamvills isn't very "bluesy," it's a comparison that generally works, as Billy kind of throws himself at you with his voice in the same way Jon tends to (and if the late John Belushi is to be believed, punk is the new blues [or at least it was... 40 years ago]). Something else I like about Billy's style is his guitar work. Even though he is really wailing on his instrument, there is an agility to his playing that sometimes catches me off guard. Like the way he hops between chords on the opener "Prune" or walks out a skipping progression of notes on "Lunchbrake" or ducks under tension cranking power chords and Wire-esque wallopers on "Leisure" is naively impressive. He makes it look easy but also like he's not sure he is going to pull it off each time. His play kind of resembles a cat leaping to a bookshelf that should be too high for it but managing to land on it with all four paws. It's not always the most artful exercise to witness but it's definitely a laudable deployment of skill. Even though he's got some talent, for this style of music, ability doesn't matter as much as passion, and it's clear that Billy has plenty of that. All in all, I genuinely enjoyed my trip to Billiamvills. Maybe next time I'll book a room for a full day, but 8 hours was definitely enough for a nice visit.
