2014 has been a hell of a year for Party Static. They have played shows all over Dallas with local and national bands, even holding their own when sharing a stage with the Coathangers, for crying out loud. They've also been nominated in two categories for this year's Dallas Observer Music Awards, Best Live Act and Best New Act. The band will close out the year with the release of their second EP, My Cat Doesn't Like That.
In 2015, they plan to release their debut album and go on tour. With the release of My Cat Doesn't Like That just around the corner, Party Static are giving a sneak-peak to the new record with an exclusive stream of a new track, "Poor Baby," that we're hosting exclusively here at DC9 at Night.
See also: Party Static is Dallas' Most Wildly Fun Band Voting for the 2014 Dallas Observer Music Awards Is Now Open
The song is just over two minutes, but Laura Harrell and Kjersten Funk's wild vocals are on display from the first second, mentioning something about the cat fighting with a stray cat on the porch in the tiny hours of the night. From there they lament about the cat and others not liking hugs. The song is clever and infectious, maniacal in the best sense of the word, and the EP obviously takes its title from the lyrics.
Billy Kuykendall's drums are solid as ever, always providing structure and carefully holding everything in place; notice that clever use of a tambourine towards the end. Brett Michael Strawn's guitar sounds like surf rock on speed and seems to go into "Cecilia Ann" (as covered by Pixies) territory in the last few seconds of the track.
Within the context of this entire upcoming six-song EP, "Poor Baby" seems to fall into the three songs that find Party Static sharpening the sound we've come to expect from live shows and their first EP, This Isn't Music. But the other half has some real surprises. A couple of the tracks are much slower and heavier and the last track goes off in a completely different direction, perhaps an indication of things to come or just evidence of the band's willingness to experiment.
The members of Party Static come from very different musical backgrounds. But it's with this EP that the band really starts to show the potential to effortlessly take their sound in different directions with great success. Strawn's guitar work is especially unpredictable and idiosyncratic throughout. On one track he is absolutely shredding and on another he is slicing up the music like Mick Jones.
2015 should be another great year for Party Static. This second EP will build lots of anticipation for their debut full-length and it is hard to imagine the band getting anything other than positive reactions from crowds outside of DFW.
