Sudden Weather Change – Stop! Hand Grenade in the Name of Crib Death 'nderstand

Iceland's main paper, Morgunblaðið, has named Reykjavik's Sudden Weather Change one of the recuperating nation's hottest exports for 2009. With the year half over and the release only seeing domestic and UK distribution through way-too-underrated record label Kimi Records, is this acclaim going to be actualized? Well, probably not. First off, Sudden Weather Change are far from an immediately affecting outfit. In the onset, a few songs into their awkwardly titled debut, Stop! Hand Grenade in the Name of Crib Death 'nderstand, the quartet repel more than invite. But such is the aesthetic that overrides much of the youthful quartet's output, and such is what's capsuled with this debut. This may not be an intrinsically angry bunch, as sarcasm and cynicism often get mistaken with each other, but Sudden Weather Change purport an aggressive, outwardly caustic drawl, a type quelled from months practicing in shivering garages and electrically heated rural cottages. And this presents some challenges on record. This band is young, very young, or at least they sound like it, and in capturing moments in their psyche, sounds come off immature at times, even if that may not have been the goal in mind. But what we have here is boundless energy, and that should be lauded. This is far from boring, I'll give them that. Stop! is a collection of songs that are too long for their own good, but capture moments of absolute joy, albeit sporadically. The song titles, for one thing, are brilliant. There's 'Beatlemania' and the seminal 'Vagina Bleeding'. But push aside the image and adolescence of the overall product, and some clever musical ideas emerge. Aforementioned 'Beatlemania' is dripping with Pavement and Dinosaur Jr. influences, even veering towards Kyuss in its extended bit, showcasing a quartet that certainly digest their influences in full gulps. 'St. Peter's Day', a song the band has been playing for three years containing the lines 'I Hate Nicholas Cage', sound as good on record as it did live, even if the joke isn't funny anymore. But the distortion, effects and dirty guitar swirls buttress a simple chord progression that, in an oddball sense, crafts a clever three-and-a-half minute ditty. Same with 'Team Explosion Dolphin'. More influences are paraded in full view, from Shellac to No Age, while the band yells into microphones in unison, possibly while drunk or at least virulently cold. It's dirty, dark and disorganized, but heartwarming as well. Plus, the band sounds as if they love every minute, however flawed it ends up.With more time, a few more years under their belt and a stronger sense of organization, Sudden Weather Change may realize the acclaim their homeland has hoisted on them. This one, however, is slightly too immature and raw to reach critical mass, even if it is a hell of a lot of fun. 65%Sudden Weather Change on Myspace