You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
Digital Processing Platform<br />
MUSIC<br />
performance ><br />
the parts<br />
Whoop Dee Doo, her trio’s first album<br />
since 2004 and most consistent since<br />
1997’s Happy Birthday To Me, bursts with<br />
bounding melodies, crunchy tones, and<br />
bash-and-slap raucousness that have been<br />
Shattuck signatures since the group released<br />
a self-titled effort on Warner Bros.<br />
more than 20 years ago and immediately<br />
announced itself as one of the most fun,<br />
catchy, and happy-go-lucky acts in poppunk<br />
history. Too raw for the mainstream<br />
and too sugary for the underground, the<br />
Muffs attracted a cult following smitten by<br />
Shattuck’s sweet-and-tart vocals, goofy<br />
sensibility, and hummable hooks that would<br />
be the envy of Cheap Trick, Big Star, or any<br />
other formidable power-pop band.<br />
The Digital Processing Platform<br />
is a powerful system built<br />
around state of the art Field<br />
Programmable Gate Arrays and<br />
Digital Signal Processing ICs.<br />
It allows almost any logical or signal<br />
processing function to be configured<br />
within the hardware simply by<br />
reprogramming the processor ICs.<br />
This arrangement is so flexible<br />
that it allows us to configure a<br />
multitude of products on the same<br />
hardware platform and, because<br />
it is programmable, it allows new<br />
functionality to be enabled by means<br />
of a simple software upgrade. It is this<br />
platform at the heart of dCS products<br />
that allow us to implement our unique<br />
signal processing and Ring DAC <br />
topologies that are the very essence<br />
of what makes our systems sound<br />
so wonderful.<br />
The Muffs<br />
Whoop Dee Doo<br />
Burger/Cherry Red, LP or CD<br />
Kim Shattuck will forever be the<br />
answer to the trivia question: “Who<br />
replaced original bassist Kim Deal<br />
in the Pixies” Never mind that<br />
the former’s tenure in the onceimpeccable<br />
band lasted only a few<br />
months before she was terminated,<br />
the fall girl for an embarrassing run<br />
of shows short on energy, purpose,<br />
and inspiration. As it happens,<br />
the Pixies’ decision to end the<br />
relationship with Shattuck is the<br />
best move they’ve made in nearly<br />
a decade—and they’re not even<br />
the direct beneficiaries. Rather,<br />
the dissolution prompted Shattuck<br />
to re-start her primary band, the<br />
Muffs, after an extended hiatus.<br />
These hallmarks course throughout this<br />
12-track set in which concise songs go off<br />
like Black Cat fireworks behind a school<br />
and put grins on the faces of all the sly<br />
neighborhood kids watching the disruption.<br />
Carefree, punchy, and comedic, the<br />
Muffs give listeners permission to cause<br />
silly trouble, partake in shenanigans, and<br />
hang around in pajamas all day because,<br />
well, why not Musically, fuzz-drenched<br />
chords, chiming tambourines, and broken<br />
notes stem from garage tradition. Shattuck’s<br />
come-hither coos and persuasively<br />
sultry hiccups suggest romantic girl-group<br />
swooning until she shatters any such illusions<br />
with guttural roars and husky growls<br />
that belong on a riot-grrl seven-inch.<br />
Dynamic and pronounced, the contrasts<br />
lend to the group’s playful energy and<br />
sense that no matter the subject at hand—<br />
boys and their ignorant ways are a common<br />
theme, and fittingly so, since the Muffs’<br />
fizzy tunes mirror the ups and downs of<br />
the rollercoaster emotions associated<br />
with fleeting crushes—Shattuck sings as if<br />
she’s completely infatuated and unable to<br />
concentrate on anything else. (continued)<br />
info@dcsltd.co.uk | dCSonlythemusic | www.dcsltd.co.uk | www.onlythemusic.com<br />
Imported by dCS North America<br />
T +1 617 314 9296<br />
Manufactured in the UK by Data Conversion Systems Ltd<br />
Unit 1, Buckingway Business Park, Anderson Road, Swavesey, Cambridge, CB24 4AE<br />
July 2014 31