Numbers, not The Numbers but Numbers, are now officially coming into their own. Having released two previous LPs for the abstract Tigerbeat6 label, both Life and In My Mind All The Time, put together, comes out to about as long as this new 43-minute album, the first from the San Francisco trio on silver for Kill Rock Stars and black for Polyvinyl (long live vinyl). With twice as much content as usual and Numbers working out their heaviest dose of lo-fi drone rock, this is their best release to date. I get the same feeling from We're Animals as I did when Fever To Tell first came out. I loved the early Yeah Yeah Yeahs EPs much like I do the early Numbers albums, which were really EPs anyway, and this album is just that much more polished and accomplished comparatively. Indra Dunis often toes the line between Karen O and Trish Keenan of Broadcast, which, along with the band's natural punk fringe tendencies, helps to make the Yeahs comparison that much more obvious. But the steadfast backbone of the Numbers' sound remains the bellowing moog (RIP Dr. Robert) torture of Eric Landmark, which creates an absorbing trance-like quality rarely heard outside of progressive. The only thing I can see standing in Numbers' way is they're not, or at least not yet, a singles band; they probably won't earn all the recognition reserved for the Franz Ferdinand indie pop types, with less obscure influences than the 13th Floor Elevators. And Numbers is a wicked live band more so than a studio one. It's definitely worth going to their show, but 'till then, moog lovers look no further.
1. Beast Life
2. Black Crow Heart Of Gold
3. The Fuck You Garage
4. Desert Life
5. Funny But Sad
6. Can't Remember
7. Solid Pleasure
8. Crows
9. I'll Love You 'Til I Don't
10. Time Story
11. Party's Over
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