I fear it may happen one day; someone will slip up, let the cat out of the bag, and give the game away. Someone may, one day, tell Erase Errata that it isn't 1981 any longer. Basquiat is dead, Sonic Youth isn't so youthful anymore and John Hinckley Jr. was a rubbish shot. Step forward, Ladies, 2006 has much to offer you. No? Fine then.
Nightlife is the San Francisco bands third album and they're still rocking the ESG/ DNA/ Pop Group vibe fairly feverishly. While having dropped down to a three piece, the guitar is more focused and the album as a whole is less erratic and more assured than on either Other Animals or At Crystal Palace.
This is also Erase Errata's most lyrical/ theme based album yet, with lyrics that "ââ¬Â¦are about the government, political disillusionment, and the things that keep us from thinking about what is really going on- being distracted by night life, consumerism and celebrity watching."
Though never the most lyrically skilled band on the go, Erase Errata are still able to get their point across wither it's the brazen politics of "Tax Dollar" ("Yes, I really got away with murder, manslaughter/ All funded by my tax dollar") or the indictment of pro-war churches ("You perpetuated the hatred, 'til Sunday fills our hearts with terror and with shame.") This is all well and good, but what really makes Erase Errata worthwhile is their ability to lock into an undeniably catchy groove and ride it like the preverbal queer rodeo women; see "Giant Hans", "Dust" and "Rider" for particularly good examples.
Sometimes, in fact most times, when a band forays into more conventional and by association more accessible territory the results are often less rewarding than their previous work. Though not as radical a change as that made by say The Rapture, a band Erase Errata are sometimes clumsily lumped in with, when they went from Gravity Records post-punk noise merchants (with screeching Robert Smith vocals) to full on DISCO (with screechy Robert Smith vocals), the results are just as positive. In short; Nightlife is Erase Errata's most enjoyable album to date, without becoming the vapid subject matter it prods and pokes at.
