I love Sonic Youth. I’ll just get that out of the way to start with. And with said love comes a desire to delve in to the side projects, ideas and activities of each band member. I want to trawl record stores for their SYR releases, I want to try and pretend I understand Ranaldo’s Text of Light stuff, and I want to check out everything released by Ecstatic Peace! I first saw Black Helicopter back in March at SXSW. I enjoyed their set, but they didn’t blow me away. The band are from Boston. Don’t Fuck With The Apocalypse is their third album, and it’s still not got me hooked. I was really into it on the first listen; the Pavement comparisons especially ringing true in Tim Shea’s vocal delivery. The music also holds homage to Spiral Stairs’ guitars, Geffen era Sonic Youth and even a lick of Dinosaur Jr. This really is a record that wears its influences on its sleeve, and that’s not where my problem with the album lies. I’m not sure where, lyrically or thematically, Don’t Fuck With The Apocalypse is going. Sonic Youth lyrics are always so mysterious and captivating, Pavement’s ironic and full of a smug wit, and Dinosaur Jr. always have that braying hopelessness that just becomes utterly charming. Listening to Black Helicopter I just can’t find anything to pull out and keep, to make my own. Listening to the first track I thought the record might be taking a political direction, but then they switch and start singing about the nostalgia of cassette players, stupid kids and video rentals. I might be misreading or just missing the point, but I guess that’s the key here. Listening to a record is a subjective experience. Listening to this, sure the production is great and the guitar riffs glow, and on a first listen I enjoyed it. But, if I can’t find something in it’s 40 odd minutes that really speaks to me then I’m never going to fall in love with it like I will with the bands who do.