For all the cock-rock expanse of the “Wrong Galaxy / Triumph” single, you could at least count on one thing – Shit Robot (aka Marcus Lambkin) wasn’t willing to paint in dollops of rock star excess. “Triumph” shared the blunted cosmic vibe that sunk Map of Africa’s album, but SR never sounded weighed down by the size of their tom-ticks and choirs - in fact, they sounded unusually limber.

The brood that opens “Chasm” doesn’t make it any easier to pin Lambkin down. Leaving the swarm of bees in the distance and shying away from the menacing shortcuts found in Vakant’s VST-patch-a-ya-ya, Shit Robot’s menace and melody sound absolutely ornate and anthemic, as the track vamps on a tin-drum, acid gurgles, and an arpeggiator set to the “Heater” shimmy. The B-side “Lonely Planet” sets its sights lower and recaptures the wide-eyed motorik expanse without resorting into bland homage. While neither side of Chasm will get the same tongue-wagging that has accompanied recent DFA signees Still Going and Holy Ghost, Lambkin might be even more deserving – his follow-up is a rung higher than his debut.

DFA / 2183
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[Nate DeYoung]

Prinzhorn Dance School sounds like an innocuous enough name. The group might reject the typical publicity blitz, offering just the barest décor of a website, shadows instead of profiles, and are missing the 21st century business card - a myspace page. But leave it to the U.S. government to make your little hairs stand up on the back of your neck. Now accompanying their rejected Spring tour visas, Prinzhorn’s Sussex sneer and militant drumming suddenly have taken some terror-ridden overtones – “you are a space invader” indeed.

Which makes the new single, Up! Up! Up!, sound even funnier and more tragic in context. Prinzhorn certainly don’t go out of their way to strike the ominous pose that they could get away with given their last couple months. Instead, the retro-riding boy-girl two-piece gets road weary on the title track. Left with hoarse throats, the group’s chants become screams while they spend their days watching cockroaches and fishes. Somewhere along the way, Prinzhorn’s minimal no-wave blueprint gets stretched into a landscape. It’s only amplified by the weak toss-off of a b-side, “Hamworthy Sports And Leisure Center” – a song that reveals how Prinzhorn teeters on the edge of failure with every step. But with two great tracks under their belt (”Up! Up! Up!” & “Space Invader”), it’s time to bring on the album.

DFA / DFAEMIDJ 2170
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[Nate DeYoung]