Skull Kontrol: Deviate Beyond All Means Of Capture

Once again, Chris Thompson (formerly of Ignition, Circus Lupus, and The Monorchid) has brought together a band that takes the rigid definition of punk, smashes it to bits, and reforms it to fit his incendiary purposes. The mere fact that Thompson is recording again is great news—he is, after all, the American equivalent of The Fall's Mark E. Smith—but the downside is that the resulting album seems rushed, failing to live up to the standards of his previous bands. Deviate Beyond All Means Of Capture, the first album by his new Skull Kontrol, starts out with a raucous indictment of rock critics, "New Rock Critic," that's simultaneously scathing, catchy, and sincere. The album closes with the intense "Witch Laughter" and the spastic, bluesy stomp of "Live Bait," both exceptional songs that would stand on their own as singles. But between those fine bookends are five tracks that, while emptily energetic, lack substance. Deviate seems to have been thrown together too quickly, with no regard to fine-tuning the weaker material. But if Thompson's fans have to endure some pleasant but middling filler to get to the good stuff, it's ultimately worth it.