Caught in the Carousel

These Are Powers

Silver Lung / Funeral Xylophone
(7-inch single) Elsie + Jack Recordings

These Are Powers

If you're a big fan of ritual sacrifice, These Are Powers' "Silver Lung"/"Funeral Xylophone" 7" single might well be the perfect soundtrack with which to kick off your next celebration. Featuring Anna Barie (formerly of Knife Skills), Ted McGrath (of Flung), and Pat Noecker (formerly of Liars), These Are Powers are a trio from Brooklyn who call themselves "healing and easy listening" but are most certainly joking. Much more akin to noise-rock than to Neil Diamond, the single begins with a strident repeated guitar chord that is at first mimicked, then complemented, by the kind of almost-anachronistic drumming that can't quite decide whether it belongs at Burning Man or in front of a Revolutionary War regiment. Meanwhile, the vocals, when they arrive on the scene, sound a lot like the hellspawn of Mick Jagger and the riot grrl movement--that is to say, a couple of tortured siblings with a number of issues to work out and a mater plan to conquer said problems... together... through violence. The lyrics tackle topics such as burning, boiling blood, religious gesticulation (both Christian and Satanic), and a variety of other things that are rendered unintelligible when overpowered by drumming, or when Anna Barie's voice hits the high registers. Upon further deliberation, a 7" single might be a little short for that extended summer sacrifice you've been planning, but These Are Powers would still be great background music for a blood oath. So if that's your thing, make sure you've readied your knives and scroll before heading to the record store. As for me--I'm usually more into precocious pop, but all this talk of transubstantiation is really hitting a nerve. Where's my cauldron, and how far away is Halloween again?

--Christine Fort