During the early 2000’s, the planet earth was a malevolent and volatile place. Plants and animals fought to the death just to fulfill their nutritional requirements and live another day. The landscape itself was a splintered and barren wasteland; magma bled out of every crevice, spewing molten ash into the skies, darkening any life-giving rays that the sun was providing. Aside from the blood-thirsty flora and fauna and poisonous gasses, plagues were upon us… “Modlaria” and the “Brobonic Plague,” two unforgiving diseases that were infecting the music scene faster than mono in a frat house.
Under the microscope, Modlaria presented scowling, white-belted, bowl-cutted “mods” with music that was just as pretentious as its audience. No matter what show you went to, you knew some white-belted band with a skinny dude vocalist all Spocked the fuck out in toddler jeans would be sashaying around the stage crying about cocaine and “movements”.
Next was the Brobonic Plague (Faux Garage Rock)—the first symptom of this disease is fatigue and malaise, then you break out into “Hives” and/or “White Stripes.” A “Hot Hot Heat” washes over you. Inevitable “Strokes.” Other symptoms may include The Mooney Sazuki, The Datsuns, The Von Bondies, The Libertines, etc. Major record labels were pimping out these smallpox blankets faster than they could get their fat fingers on them.
Underneath this layer of stupid that was clogging up all the music blogs and publications, there were a lot of bands and labels releasing genuine and interesting music, Erase Errata being one of them. When they crashed the Rock n Roll sausage party of the early 00’s, I knew I was in love. Their debut full length, Other Animals, was a maniacal and unhinged assault on no-wave/rock/post punk/noise rock; and is still one of my favorite records and one of the most important releases of that decade. You could dance to it, rock out to it, and at the same time admire its precision and intelligence.
The first time I saw Erase Errata was in Boston with Red Monkey, Q and Not U and the Panthers at the Garment District. My friends and I had Other Animals and Q and Not U’s No Kill No Beep Beep in heavy rotation, and we were excited to see these bands play them live. Neither band disappointed and Erase Errata were just as fun and eccentric as the record, sporting the finest yarn-knit jumpers and dresses you’ve ever seen—of every color known to man.
Lost Weekend is the latest release from these Bay Area maniacs. Still a 3 piece (same line-up as Nightlife), this record takes a different approach than their previous three; the majority of the tracks are more focused on melody and are laid back and mid-tempo; good luck getting “History of Handclaps” and “My Life In Shadows” out of your head. Tracks like “Scattered Means” and “Another Reason to Arrest & Imprison the ‘Free’” are more up-tempo and snazzy, reminiscent of Erase Errata’s early career. Once again, Jenny Hoyston’s voice is perfectly placed on each track creating vocal hooks that are just as catchy as the music.
As a whole, Lost Weekend is a cohesive piece that encompasses all the sights and sounds associated with Erase Errata and what we’ve grown to love about them. If they tour off this record, you best be seeing them! I have seen them three times now, and they always put on a great show!
Rating: 5 out of 6 Doves – Prince’s Minnetonka Tea Time was interrupted when he overheard Lost Weekend and thought for a split second that it may almost be as good as one of his own. After splashing his cup of tea into his ankle masseuse’s face, he went downstairs into his studio and wrote the best mind-melting neo-funk-jazz-fusion box set known to man.