The GTC 7"
After a two year hiatus, the GTC return in full force. Famous for their fast
modems, rotten horns and hip-hoppery, they refuse to be ignored. While
there has been a flood of "screamo" bands in the recent years, the GTC
nimbly avoid the many pitfalls of the genre, ala pirate flag artwork and
overly derivative sound. While they take heed from many of their predecessors,
such as Honeywell or Antioch Arrow, they manage to escape being written
off as a second rate facsimile of years gone by. Breaking new ground
while fluently covering old is how the GTC operate. Playing many shows
in the Northeast, the GTC are gathering a decent following in the area,
their live shows brimming with furvor and red-cheekedness. This 7" is
their first release with their new and most impressive lineup.
There were 626 copies pressed, all on clear red vinyl. All copies come
with a xeroxed insert, hand-placed stickers on the vinyl and a stamped dust
sleeve. There were 8 test pressings on black vinyl, all with white denim
stamps on the plain white center stickers. 4 copies are complete with inserts
and covers, but do not have the dust sleeves stamped. The remaining 4 only
came with plain dust sleeves.
01 - Columbus and his Robot Army
02 - The Gravel People
03 - Pull Out The Pin
04 - Looking Forward To
Maximum Rock N' Roll:
A shocking assault of force and confidence that any variety of emo or post punk band
I'd guess GTC to be, based on the sparse art-school layout of the sleeve, would never
have. Discordant guitar and trumpet... like Constatine Sankathi without all the crying
on the floor stuff. From chaotic to calm, GTC are heavy on the dynamics. It's fast
when it needs to be, and they never get carried away with the artsy stuff. I'm impressed.
Blastitude:
Man, I think I played this one at the wrong speed too. Bands, please. Mark that shit
right on the label, please. Your design isn't that hermetic, it can accomodate a simple
"45 RPM" or "33 RPM." This is actually kind of a similar genre to Versailles: emo-influenced
grindcore. (Oh yeah, it's called Screamo. I said that in the last review.) The GTC
are a little better at it -- vocals don't sound anything like David Grubbs or the guy
from Hey Mercedes, but they are yet another grindcore/screamo vocal duo employing the
low-guy/high-guy template. The high singer for The GTC is kind of amazing, sounds like
a weird miniature dog of some kind a couple times. They have okay trumpet too. Not a
bad band. The 'breakdown' of the first song on side two wins me over, instead of some
precise speed-picking, they just make their equipment all sound like it's falling over
really hard for ten continuous seconds. Still no USAISAMONSTER or anything. Oh shit,
while I was writing that they were doing this thing where they got really quiet and
clicky and it lasted a long time and I wondered if it was bad mastering and then the
dog-guy screams something a capella, loud, and they go back into the song, loud! Now
that was good -- reminded me of "Black Juju"! Actually, the production on this is
pretty bad and clicky (and my stereo needle is bad too), and those are all good things,
so this is sounding much better than some super-sheen CD by The Locust or The Blood Brothers or the et al.
Released October 2001
