Because TV On The Radio's Tunde Adebimpe serves as
a guest vocalist, Power Douglas' debut, Pentecostal Fangbread, will inevitably be
compared to Adebimpe's band. Which isn't particularly accurate: Power Douglas
combines frontman Furor Thin, whose style is closer to spoken-word than rap,
with out-rock that isn't shy about throwing sonics against the refrigerator
door just to see what sticks. Pentecostal Fangbread is messy, often in an
appealing way. Brief (nine tracks, 36 minutes) but expansive, it sounds like a
collection of barely cleaned-up demos that nicely capture a handful of moods,
primarily being stoned while listening to a bustling city go about its
business. "Rvrsr" moves along on an onrushing beat, foghorn-like vocals, and
lazy electric-keyboard droplets; "Oblideration Of King Alfred" marries Thin's
declamatory vocal percussion and slow-fritzing synths. Even when Adebimpe
provides an honest-to-goodness chorus for the closing "Pangaea," the
spook-house organ, fuzzy bass, and blistering drums enveloping him sound like
they're breaking into static—and guessing when it will happen is part of
the appeal.