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Album Details

• Artist: 20 Minute Loop
• Album: Yawn + House = Explosion
• Label: Fortune Records
• Year of Release: 2005
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: mschmitt on 2006-11-19

A band like 20 Minute Loop demands either many adjectives or a new label. The band has chosen the latter route, deeming themselves "freak pop," but I don’t feel like that does the band’s sound any justice. Their latest release "Yawn + House = Explosion" is a lyrically-charged indie explosion that you’ll love so much you’ll feel perverted. The instrumentals are off-kilter and brilliant. "Cora May" holds a guitar solo that took my breath away, and excellently delivered and introspective pack of expertly played notes that pulls the listener in. The instrumental fun continues in "Properties in Dirt," a massively impressive track that features a freaky beat paired with off-kilter guitar riffs that can only be described as cataclysmic. "Then she saw the street between the crumbled knees of ruined queens," sing 20 Minute Loop, "Statues torn apart from every time her children fought…You’re not alone, godforsaken maybe / But you’ve got a brand new home." "Yawn + House = Explosion’s" lyrics are goofy, emo, uplifting, mournful, distracting, and empowering all at the same time. Pieced together as if randomly grabbing lines out of a bag, the songs still come together to become some strange and creepy story. "Tell me a story that ends with a gunshot / A smack to the side of the head," they begin in "Book of J" which continues with haunting boy/girl vocals that are so unsettling I just need more. Song after song delivers off-beat and delicious lyrics and instrumentals, all delivered with dueling male / female vocals and a mix of ‘90s guitar riffs (sort of like Alice in Chains without the Dirt) and modern indie influences (like The Concretes on speed). Altogether though, 20 Minute Loop demand many an adjective to properly describe their brand of "freak pop," many more than I could use. The only way to feel every description is to listen to "Yawn + House = Explosion" for yourself, and let your mind wander. Fall into their loop.

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