Music

These Are Powers, When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth, Scarily Terrible

Tuesday, September 16, at The Lounge on Elm Street

A A A Comments By Daniel Rodrigue Thursday, Sep 11 2008

When describing These Are Powers' sound, it's impossible not to throw out terms like noisy, raw or atonal. But, whatever you do, don't call the band's powerful racket post-punk or No Wave. By dubbing their own sound "ghost-punk," the members of this noise-rock outfit beat critics to the punch. And—thoughts on a band that names its own sound aside—the descriptor ghost-punk actually fits. These Are Powers' songs thunder along with a haunting, often unsettling urgency and intensity. Bassist Pat Noecker (formerly of Liars) and guitarist Anna Barie alternately chant and sing in a ritualistic call-response style. And, when Barie screams, whoops and howls into the microphone, she sounds like one possessed. During the band's live sets, she certainly shakes and throws her body around like Linda Blair in The Exorcist too—which probably hasn't hurt the band's reputation for its untamed, spastic live sets. But it's the forceful, tribal drumming of Bill Salas that really drives the band's sound.

These Are Powers, which is currently splitting its time between Brooklyn and Chicago, recently signed to the Austin-based Dead Oceans label, and in October, the label will re-release the band's debut album Terrific Seasons, as well as the follow-up EP Taro Tarot. The band already spent this summer recording material for its next album too, which is on track for release in early '09.