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Jul 02, 2018 Web Exclusive By Lee Adcock

Could you be Palberta? The simple difference between you and any of the three misfits from New York is that you’re not trying to swindle ordinary entropy into a “rock” band. Like the gang’s last two misadventures, Roach Goin’ Down continues to bounce raucous, Fire Engines-esque mayhem inside the many walk-in closets of The Raincoats; minute-long snapshots catch Palberta whizzing through moldy budget inns and cracked computer screens. But while many of their Postcard revival contemporaries (y’know—Omni, Lithics) shoot high for intellectual discourse, our out-of-tune heroes capture just snatches of mundane conversation, like “Big Time” and “Gimme Everything You Got Girl.” You get the sense, often, that songs come together only in coordinated and caffeinated spurts, and that other people in the room can chime in with whatever they’ve got in their hands.

In other words, Palberta fans won’t find many new wrinkles to their favorite crumpled trio in Roach. In fact, the trio even reference themselves on “Jaws’ Return,” a slightly tamer cover to a song from last year’s Bye Bye Berta. And, just like on that album, Palberta also steal a page from The Flying Lizards and deconstruct a radio hit from yesteryear, Hall and Oats’ “Rich Girl” (except, ha ha, now it’s “Rich Boy”). But this round does feature a few more melodies to hum—especially “Sound of the Beat,” a one-minute nugget of nostalgic bliss.

At any rate, Palberta remains Palberta. And for listeners that relate hard to the trio’s unruly guitars and quirky grooves (like on the very Pylon-esque “Ziddy”), that stubbornly plain approach won’t disappoint. But overall, Roach is the document of three ordinary folks still feeling their way to an identity—like most 20-somethings, really. (www.palbertapalberta.bandcamp.com)

Author rating: 6.5/10