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CHEER-ACCIDENT

RIO/Avant-Prog • United States


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Cheer-Accident picture
Cheer-Accident biography
Formed in Chicago, Illinois, USA in 1981 - Still active as of 2018

Originally formed in 1981 by Chicago-based pianist and drummer Thymme Jones, Cheer-Accident has maintained an impressively eclectic approach to music-making throughout their lengthy career, releasing a slew of albums that range in style from noise rock to avant-prog to pop. Unsurprisingly for a band that has been active for well over twenty years, the line-up has shifted on more than one occasion (including the tragic and untimely loss of their then-guitarist Phil Bonnet in 1999), but throughout their career Cheer-Accident have continued to produce challenging and unique music; constantly refusing to pin themselves down to a single genre.

2009 saw the release of Fear Draws Misfortune on Cuneiform Records. A punchy, dark and consistently challenging slice of avant-prog, this album alone more than justifies their inclusion in these archives. Other albums of particular interest to avant-prog fans include 1988's Sever Roots Tree Dies and the more recent Introducing Lemon.

Comparisons to Thinking Plague and other American RIO-tinged avant-prog bands are justified but they do little to capture the utterly unique spirit and sound of this band. Highly recommended for fans of complex (but uncluttered), highly-composed and unpredictable avant-prog.

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CHEER-ACCIDENT discography


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CHEER-ACCIDENT top albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

3.81 | 20 ratings
Sever Roots, Tree Dies
1988
3.67 | 17 ratings
Dumb Ask
1991
4.07 | 25 ratings
Babies Shouldn't Smoke
1992
3.83 | 16 ratings
The Why Album
1994
3.67 | 20 ratings
Not a Food
1996
3.86 | 22 ratings
Enduring the American Dream
1997
4.00 | 1 ratings
Trading Balloons
1999
3.09 | 28 ratings
Salad Days
2000
4.00 | 35 ratings
Introducing Lemon
2003
3.14 | 14 ratings
Gumballhead the Cat
2003
3.03 | 18 ratings
What Sequel?
2006
3.90 | 53 ratings
Fear Draws Misfortune
2009
3.87 | 28 ratings
No Ifs, Ands or Dogs
2011
3.87 | 59 ratings
Putting Off Death
2017
3.89 | 25 ratings
Fades
2018
3.92 | 13 ratings
Chicago XX
2019
3.67 | 6 ratings
Fringements One
2020
3.38 | 8 ratings
Here Comes the Sunset
2022
3.25 | 4 ratings
Fringements Two
2023
4.00 | 1 ratings
Q-Pop
2023
4.00 | 1 ratings
A New Ear: 2024
2024
4.00 | 2 ratings
Vacate
2024

CHEER-ACCIDENT Live Albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

CHEER-ACCIDENT Videos (DVD, Blu-ray, VHS etc)

CHEER-ACCIDENT Boxset & Compilations (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

3.33 | 6 ratings
Variations on a Goddamn Old Man
2002
3.33 | 6 ratings
Variations on a Goddamn Old Man Vol. 2
2005
3.00 | 1 ratings
Smoking for Two: A Smoking for Two Christmas
2013

CHEER-ACCIDENT Official Singles, EPs, Fan Club & Promo (CD, EP/LP, MC, Digital Media Download)

CHEER-ACCIDENT Reviews


Showing last 10 reviews only
 Fades by CHEER-ACCIDENT album cover Studio Album, 2018
3.89 | 25 ratings

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Fades
Cheer-Accident RIO/Avant-Prog

Review by Mellotron Storm
Prog Reviewer

4 stars 4.5 stars. CHEER ACCIDENT out of Chicago have been playing music since the early eighties and have well over 20 albums to their name. "Fades" was released in 2018 and was their 19th studio album at the time. This is my favourite album from them edging out 2011's "No Ifs, And Or Dogs" and 2009's "Fear Draws Misfortune". An impressive trio of records that encapsulates what this band is all about. "Fear Draws Misfortune" might be their best instrumental work but "Fades" blows it up vocally, so much better with many guests helping out as well here. "No Ifs, And Or Dogs" sort of sits in the middle of these two both vocally and instrumentally.

The band calls this their "Kraut-Pop" record and it does groove with some outstanding vocals throughout. We still get some odd ball moments and hey I hear harmonium, bassoon, baritone sax, strings and the like, so there's that. Over 20 artists involved in the making of this. The opener "Done" is not a favourite but I acknowledge it's a great introduction to the type of music you are going to hear and maybe the most commercial sounding of the ten songs as well. High pitched synths don't do a lot for me.

Having said that the next four tracks create a high water mark few have hit when you combine the melodic with the avant. "The Mind-Body Experience" has so much more depth then the opener and so catchy. The depth is heard in the distortion, baritone sax, bass and harmonium. Male vocals before a minute. "Monsters" just grooves and talk about depth. Vocals and insane laughter ends it. "I'm Just Afraid" has the best vocal performance in my opinion by a male named Sacha Mullin. Incredibly smooth vocals, love his tone. Horns too. "Trying To Comfort Mary" is another amazing track. Male vocals, drums and guitar stand out. Just a great tune.

"Art Land" isn't quite as good as the four that proceed it but is a stripped down track done by a trio of vocals, guitar/bass and drums. "Last But Not Lost" is more avant, bassoon too. Intense with pounding drums as vocals come and go. Carla from SLEEPYTIME GORILLA MUSEUM sings on here. "House Of Dowse" is hit and miss for me with those quickly strummed guitars, fast paced vocals and such. I like it better when it slows down after 3 minutes. "Caboose" is incredible after 2 minutes when the vocals step aside. So inventive sounding.

This was voted 9th best album for 2018 by the collaborators here.

 Salad Days by CHEER-ACCIDENT album cover Studio Album, 2000
3.09 | 28 ratings

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Salad Days
Cheer-Accident RIO/Avant-Prog

Review by mmudskipper

5 stars Ba da ba dum dum dum ba dum da dum da dum

Incredible prog record from Chicago masters Cheer-Accident. By turns sweet and others HEAVY. Excellent use of dynamics throughout.

The title track is their masterpiece and Graphic Depression is not far behind it. The "proggiest" section of the title track features this drunken pirate lurching riff which goes into one of my favorite drum riffs, referenced in my review title. They add layer after layer, making the listener feel like they've moved on, before it keeps coming back out of nowhere.

Astonishingly good drumming throughout this thing. As a totality, there is a sense of incompleteness which I think is in fact exactly as it should be. A criminally underrated band.

I have no idea why this thing isn't rated higher on this site. In my opinion, it is the best Cheer-Accident release.

 Chicago XX by CHEER-ACCIDENT album cover Studio Album, 2019
3.92 | 13 ratings

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Chicago XX
Cheer-Accident RIO/Avant-Prog

Review by kev rowland
Special Collaborator Honorary Reviewer

4 stars It may have taken nearly forty years for this Chicago-based band to release their twentieth album, but one can only smile when seeing the title and the artwork. That it looks like it could be a release from another band from the same city is purely deliberate. The band have had a rather loose idea of membership over the years, with some people not playing on certain releases and musicians taking part never to appear anywhere else. The last album of theirs I heard was 2017's 'Putting Off Death', and the three core members of the band from then are still here in Thymme Jones (vocals, guitar, drums, trumpet, synths, piano, autoharp, moog, glockenspiel), Dante Kester (bass, keyboards) and Jeff Libersher (guitar, bass, synthesizer, keyboards, ersatz cello) along with singer Carmen Armillas who actually appeared on that album as well, while multi-instrumentalist Amelie Morgan is back along with some guests.

What we have here is a band who totally refuses to conform to anyone's idea of what music should be like and create something which is catchy and poppy while also being RIO and quite challenging. They mix instruments which should never be played at the same time, with strange time signatures and clear vocals to create something which takes tips from the likes of Zappa, Residents, Art Zoyd, Henry Cow and Wire yet is always very much their own. The band describe it as "Harmony and dissonance, love and hate, oboes and drums... they all help to form this delicious and strange bedfellowship.". This is all about accepting them on their own terms, as if the listener is prepared to do that then they will be richly rewarded as the band move in and out of rocky pop numbers with incredible hooks which just don't sound like what anyone would expect. It is incredibly melodic, in a RIO way, with vocals which have pleasant melodies and one can only wonder what is going in their heads when they conjure up majesty like this.

I love the story of one lat 90's show when the band used a pre-recorded tape to segue from their song "Small World" into a hellish multitracked version of the Disney tune "It's a Small World (After All)" (personally I think the song in its original form is hellish, as anyone who has taken their children on the ride will attest to) and during playback they simply left the stage and took seats at the bar. This is complex, complicated music with wonderful harmonies and hooks, and anyone who enjoys their music to be a little (ok, a lot) out of centre will find a great deal here to enjoy.

 Chicago XX by CHEER-ACCIDENT album cover Studio Album, 2019
3.92 | 13 ratings

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Chicago XX
Cheer-Accident RIO/Avant-Prog

Review by TCat
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin

4 stars If you haven't heard of this Chicago based band 'Cheer-Accident', it makes one wonder what you have been doing with your spare time. Surely, in you journey searching for something challenging, intriguing and different, their name has popped up somewhere, right? Well, after 19 albums released between the years 1981 until now, it only seems appropriate that their 20th album should be entitiled 'Chicago XX'. I mean they are from Chicago and it is their 20th album. It's probably only a fluke that the album cover that looks like a terry cloth towel and the logo is fashioned to look like another random band that happened to call themselves after the name of the city Cheer-Accident is from.

Its strange things like this that entice me to listen to their new album. And there should be a law that says you must listen to a band that has twenty albums under their belt. So, I'm going to get a jump on that law (soon to be passed somewhere I would think) and take a chance on 'Chicago XX'. Interestingly enough, the LP version of the album was released in 2019, but the digital and CD versions were released in February of 2020. There are 8 tracks and the run time is just below 40 minutes.

Right off the bat, 'Intimacy' will clue you in to the fact that this band sound nothing like the band called 'Chicago'. Yeah, there is some brass in there, what sounds like the dissonance blasting of a thousand oboes will quickly squash your hopes of hearing an imitation of that band. The only other instruments you'll notice here is a guitar, a persistent drum and some vocals. It sounds more like a busy intersection than it sounds intimate. 'Like Something to Resemble' has more of a commercial sound with less dissonance. There is a distinct and engaging beat with a guitar strumming on the back beat, some nice synth layers and good vocals. The synths start to add in brass effects and you almost detect a bit of the Chicago sound during the instrumental break, but the nice and almost retro sound is a definite class of its own. The vocals are shared evenly between Carmen Armillas and Thymme Jones making a nice sunshiny sound that just sits a bit left of center to normal.

'Diatoms' gets a bit more daring and avant sounding with a downpour of synths, and moves from an almost commercial sound to a complete wash-out of high pitched notes on the synth, and the real avant sound takes over again. The sound is a nice, clear almost art-poppy sound, but always swings way out into left field. 'Life Rings Hollow' features Greg Beemster on vocals on a song with a great beat and bass riff while his Bowie-like singing keeps things going with an alternative flair. Todd Rittmann adds what is credited as an ersatz mellotron. It's just off enough to almost make your hair stand on end, but it works.

'I Don't Believe' is the longest track at 7:37. Carmen Armillas comes back with vocals this time but is backed up by Thymme Jones and Jeff Libersher. It starts with a brass fanfare, real brass this time, and they contradict each other with a cheery dissonance which is made darker with an electric guitar moving along with the fanfare melody. A beat finally takes hold when the fanfare ends. Dark vocals finally come in after a while and the track has a very unsettling feel to it. The addition of the viola at 5 minutes only intensifies that feeling. The guitars get heavier as it continues and start stirring things up to a climactic ending. 'Plea Bargain' has a solid guitar and beat. Thymme's vocals seem to follow a meter not connected to the music, and then things suddenly kick into a faster and more direct speed when the wild keys come in. Meters and tempos continue to shift and some very interesting guitar starts to squawk along dissonantly to it all. A trumpet comes in echoing the vocal melody towards the end, but everything is just off kilter enough to satisfy your avant urges.

'Things' begins with a softly rolling guitar and multi-layered trumpets playing contrasting lines. Carmen begins to sing and the lack of percussion actually gives the track a tense and dark feeling. It's quite nice in a strange way, again far from typical. About half way though, there is a sudden outburst from the guitars and everything gets even darker while the guitars churn along with a cello (ersatz cello?). The trumpets begin to blare along with it as it all intensifies to a rousing finish. It all concludes with 'Slowly for Awhile' which features a slow beating rhythm and dissonant stings that could either be a harp or a glockenspiel. The moog sounds harsh and sinister and Thymme brings in his vocals, eking out a melody in all of the darkness generating by the contrasting instruments. The singers brings in a small off-center choral harmony in a few parts and at times these get layered into eerie harmonics. There is also a multi-layered array of flutes that come in to finish it all off very suddenly.

Though I love the odd and daring use of dissonance in this quasi-pop sound, it lacks just a bit in emotion, though there are times when it does come out. Some may find this makes things just a bit starchy. However, the album is still enjoyable and there are some really great moments of innovative songwriting and musicianship throughout the entirety of the album. Is it accessible? Well, kind of, but it is also very quirky and full of things that might not sit well with many people, and that is the reason why I really like this album, and the band for that matter. I can easily give this a four star mostly because of the ingenuity and the avant feel of it all. I would really like to give it 5 stars, but I think it just misses that mark, however, with more listens, that could change. Either way, it is worth checking out especially if you love your music on the innovative side. At least it is better than the other 'Chicago XX' album that came out several years ago. Thanks to Nogbad_The_Bad for bringing this album to my attention.

 Putting Off Death by CHEER-ACCIDENT album cover Studio Album, 2017
3.87 | 59 ratings

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Putting Off Death
Cheer-Accident RIO/Avant-Prog

Review by BrufordFreak
Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

4 stars I don't know how I've put off knowing this band for so long but finally I am here and I am in the fold! These artists are geniuses: avant/RIO musicians who create interesting, melodic, and engaging very engaging music while still definitely in contrast or defiance of mainstream rock and even prog. I will even go so far as to proclaim it a crime for any person, old or young, who calls themselves a fan of progressive rock music to not like the music of this band! One look at the lineup of musicians and the range of musical instruments represented--and they are all used prominently but not all at once--and you know you're in for a ride.

1. "Language Is" (11:24) Piano and male voice with some bassa nd drums in the chorus sections over the first four minutes, this alone is but at 3:40 there occurs a quite aggressive bursting forth of an entire Broadway/"West Side Story"-like full-band support--which turns into a rackus instrumental section, which then morphs into an almost meditative SAMUEL BARBER-like section before slide guitar, drums, bouncy piano, and horns take over in a neat jazzy-CHICAGO-like sound. Very engaging. Love the polyrhythmic weaves of the rhythm section. Staccato hits of the horns and moog take the lead over the piano and drums until piano is replaced by electric guitar chords and the horns by radio/television static--which persists into what sounds like garbled, mangled tapes. Great song! (9/10)

2. "Immanence" (4:12) opens with a piano-led rhythm and melody similar to an early BILLY JOEL song, only repeated in an almost minimalist way. Sung start to finish by a female vocalist (Carmen Armillas?) who just happens to have one of those nearly perfect, warm yet crystal-clear voices like Heather FINDLAY (MOSTLY AUTUMN, MANTRA VEGA, solo), this song sucks one in from the first note and never lets you go. It even gets one laughing (if you listen to the words). A tough song to get out of your head once you've heard it. Awesome. (9.5/10)

3. "Wishful Breathing" (3:45) opens as a jazzy little instrumental, drums bass and intentionally cheesy organ. A John Lennon "Tomorrow Never Knows"-like vocal enters for a bit before leaving the instrumentalists to go wanky into some other dimension--until the 2:45 guitar strum tries to set us back on the path of origin. Brilliant! (9.5/10)

4. "Falling World" (3:40) another song that seems to (inadvertently?) conjure up associations to THHE BEATLES' psychedelic music, as well as experimental funk bass player BILL LASWELL (8.5/10)

5. "More And Less" (3:00) I'm reminded here of Bill Laswell and Kip Hanrahan (with a little ARTO LINDSAY on voice!) during their Pangaea Records era. AWESOME work Thymme! (10/10)

6. "Lifetime Guarantee" (6:59) A little Robert Wyatt, people? That's how it opens. As it unfolds it morphs into a kind of 1960s flower child song. Then at 4:!5 it turns more into CARDIACS/ECHOLYN/Lewis Carroll mania. (9/10)

7. "Hymn" (5:11) has a BOWIE and early BRIAN ENO feel to it, lilting along almost like a children's song--as do so many of the songs here. Truly remarkable! Simple yet quirky and unpredictable. What a song to end the album-- with its brainworm melody. Even the psychedelic boat ride with Willy Wonka in the first half of the fourth minute can't suppress the joy, happiness, and elation that this song promotes. (10/10)

Total Time 38:11

I also hear so many influences from leading edge/experimental 1970s soul/R&B artists like James, Al Green, and War.

Five stars; a true masterpiece of what I consider to be truly progressive rock music. Amazing, beautiful, and so engaging and uplifting! My new favorite album of the year!

 Putting Off Death by CHEER-ACCIDENT album cover Studio Album, 2017
3.87 | 59 ratings

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Putting Off Death
Cheer-Accident RIO/Avant-Prog

Review by Mellotron Storm
Prog Reviewer

4 stars My only experience with this band up to this point was "Fear Draws Misfortune" which I thoroughly enjoyed. I thankfully can say the same about their latest "Putting Off Death" which is an eccentric album with a nice blend of commercial sounding music and Avant shenanigans. Besides the usual instruments we get 2 tuba players, 2 sax players, 2 trumpet players along with trombone, french horn, flute and violin. There is a theme to this album and the lyrics are pretty interesting.

"Language Is" is just outside of being in my top three tracks for this album. Reserved vocals and piano remind me of WIGWAM for some strange reason. It turns fuller around 1 1/2 minutes as the drums join in. Back to the previous soundscape of piano and vocals only as contrasts continue. It kicks into gear before 4 minutes to an uptempo piano/ drum groove. A change after 5 minutes as we get this strong atmosphere with rolling piano lines. This lasts until another change after 7 1/2 minutes as a horn arrives and the tempo slows down some with piano and drums helping out. Piano only after 9 minutes but drums and horns will arrive quickly. I'm not happy about the static that overtakes the music around 10 1/2 minutes, it's like listening to the radio and suddenly static dominates the sound. Annoying but short thankfully. I'm sure it's there for a reason.

"Immanence" is a top three. A pleasant sound here with really nice female vocals. I'm really enjoying this, especially when it turns fuller 2 1/2 minutes in with some cool vocal arrangements. Horns are here too then we get a calm 3 minutes in with piano and vocals like the opening. "Wishful Breathing" opens with drums and keyboards I believe then male vocals join in just before a minute. It starts to sound experimental 1 1/2 minutes in as the vocals step aside. Interesting stuff. A calm before 3 minutes with picked instruments only.

"Falling World" features these fuzzed out sounds to begin with as some guitar notes chip in followed by high pitched male vocals reminding me of CARDIACS. Drums a minute in then horns a minute later. It seems to deconstruct starting after 2 1/2 minutes to the end. "More And Less" opens with what sounds like vibes and drums as the horns join in. Vocals a minute in as the horns step aside but then another arrives. Vocals stop around 2 minutes as the horns and drums lead the way.

"Life Time Guarantee" is my favourite song on here. Vocals, guitar and bass hit the ground running as the drums join in. I like this. Horns just before a minute then a calm before 1 1/2 minutes with reserved vocals but then they step aside. It kicks in again after 2 1/2 minutes and check out the nice melodic guitar after 3 minutes. Vocals are back before 4 minutes and I like the drumming here. It turns avant before 4 1/2 minutes with vocals and dissonant sounds then we're back in the groove 5 minutes in as the horns start to blast over top.

"Hymn" is my final top three, yes the album ends really well. Guitar and drums as the vocals and more join in. This is so moving when the vocals arrive. Why? Horns before 1 1/2 minutes as the vocals stop briefly. Themes are repeated. After 3 minutes it starts to fall apart(haha) as it becomes experimental briefly then the vocals return. I can't remember being moved like this by one of their songs.

Another really good album that matches up well in my opinion to "Fear Draws Misfortune". Time will tell which one I like best but in the meantime I need to track down "No Ifs, And Or Dogs" that apparently fits in well with the two I already have. You don't have to be a fan of Avant music to like this one so check it out everyone!

 Putting Off Death by CHEER-ACCIDENT album cover Studio Album, 2017
3.87 | 59 ratings

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Putting Off Death
Cheer-Accident RIO/Avant-Prog

Review by kev rowland
Special Collaborator Honorary Reviewer

4 stars Six years after their last album, 'No Ifs, Ands or Dogs', Cheer-Accident are back with their eighteenth studio album. During the last thirty years they have had something of a fluid line-up (including members who don't actually perform with the band, or do normally but don't play on this album), and there are fourteen musicians credited here, but at the heart of it there has always been Jeff Libersher (guitar, trumpet, vocals, keyboards) and Thymme Jones (drums, vocals, piano, trumpet, keyboards, acoustic and electric guitars, moog, noise). I think the most polite way to describe their music to a newcomer would be "eclectic", with some RIO thrown in for good measure. They've conjure up a unique collage of intricate prog, lush pop and experimental noise, drawing on the disparate influences of Pere Ubu, King Crimson, Can, Art Bears, Wire, early Genesis and Yes, and the more Baroque leaps of the Beatles and the Beach Boys without ever settling on a sound that could be definitively traced to any of them in isolation.

Take opening number "Language Is" for example, which starts off a piano and vocal number, but just when the listener feels that they know what is going on and settles back in their comfy chair, all sorts of weird stuff starts happening so that by the end of the eleven-minute-long epic they end up scratching their head asking "what on earth just happened?". This is progressive rock that really is, refusing to conform to any ideal of what the sound should be like, but organically playing and experimenting with the music until the band themselves understand what they have before them. However, unlike many others operating within this particular musical sphere there is often a great deal of melody, and the music makes logical sense. But don't relax too much, as there are also plenty of times when it doesn't, but does, if you get what I mean.

Yet again Cuneiform are working with a band (this is their third album on the label) that the mainstream music industry wouldn't touch with a barge pole, and all of us who hear this are much the richer for the experience.

 No Ifs, Ands or Dogs by CHEER-ACCIDENT album cover Studio Album, 2011
3.87 | 28 ratings

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No Ifs, Ands or Dogs
Cheer-Accident RIO/Avant-Prog

Review by ProgShine
Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

4 stars Cheer-Accident is an American band started in 1981 and so far?. Impossible to categorise. Each album is different. No Ifs, Ands Or Dogs (2011) is their latest effort and their 17th album released by Cuneiform Records. In this album they still experimenting away with pretty much everything. We have pop accents in 'Drag You Down' and 'Barely Breathing' (my favorite). 'Trial Of Errors' is electronic. 'Sleep' is Garage Rock. 'Life In Pollyanna' is Pop Punk. Then you have some Prog Rock in 'Salad Dies'.

I liked the album very much, most because there's so many different elements in it. But be warned, No Ifs, Ands Or Drogs (2011) is for the ones that have an open mind to music.

Key Track: Barely Breathing

 Not a Food by CHEER-ACCIDENT album cover Studio Album, 1996
3.67 | 20 ratings

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Not a Food
Cheer-Accident RIO/Avant-Prog

Review by irrelevant
Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

4 stars Cheer-Accident's fifth release, and a return to their "typical" sound after the rather poppy The Why Album. Not a Food marks a return to the dissonant chords, guitar interplay and odd time sigs found in previous albums such as Dumb Ask and Babies Shouldn't Smoke. They all share their differences though, and this one seems to have the most inane sections some consider to be filler. This could be a good thing for the RIO/Avant-Prog newbie who enjoys non sequitur humor, as these sections could help serve as good breaks from the dense composition found in most of the rest of the album (in my experience). Those fully accustomed to the complex may find these parts a bit unnecessary.

Things start off great with 'Even Has a Half-Life', a noisy, jazzy, distortion laden track that has a middle section made up of noise and a funny spoken part. 'Grow' is a bit more conventional and sounds like something that could have been on Dumb Ask. 'Modestly Clothed, Did She Trouble you?' is some more good mathy noise rock. 'Nutrition' occasionally borders on metal, using drop D tuning and Thymme Jones screaming the short and brief verse. A change of pace comes with '30 Seconds Of Weightlessness', it's actually 11 minutes and is a post-rock kind of track. 'Ice Cream And Lies' brings the album back up to speed, and like 'Nutrition' is kind of grungy in parts, possibly the highlight of the album. 'King Cheezamin' is a zany number and could be considered a filler track, nothing great but it is kind of funny. 'Grow II' is a surprisingly conventional instrumental, nothing really interesting happens the entire time and just cuts out. The final track, 'Evan Had a Shelf Life' takes the first 2 or so minutes of the first track and glitches it to the max as if the CD was taken to by a knife. Hmm, seems to kind of drop off at the end. Anyway, still enjoyable if you're in the mood for some math-rock mixed with some good drivel (there is such a thing!) 3.5 stars, rounded up.

Favourite Tracks: 'Ice Cream and Lies', 'Even Has a Half-Life', 'Nutrition'.

 The Why Album by CHEER-ACCIDENT album cover Studio Album, 1994
3.83 | 16 ratings

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The Why Album
Cheer-Accident RIO/Avant-Prog

Review by irrelevant
Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

4 stars To say this is a bit of a change of sound from their previous album is an understatement. With The Why Album, Cheer-Accident show their other side and go fully pop with this one...... Uncharacteristically straightforward pop. But not to worry, as this is up to the standard of their best releases, and I'll explain:

It's very well written. Thymme & Co can really write an infectious melody, extremely catchy and fun to sing along to, and the songs never get boring or overstay their welcome and are interesting enough to keep my attention. Perfect...... Although things can get a little too sweet and cheesy occasionally, like the song 'Postscript' for example, and this is the element that kept me from fully enjoying this album for a while, but I eventually got used to it and now that's not really much of a problem.

Overall this album is very good. Performances are top notch as always and a different bassist helped the sound considerably, no super fuzz here! Those seeking avant-prog within the Cheer-Accident discography should look elsewhere. Don't ignore this one though, it's still good.

Favourite tracks: 'Sub Herbs', 'Today Today Today', 'Driving a Nail With a Clock', 'Where You Are'.

Thanks to trouserpress for the artist addition. and to Quinino for the last updates

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