Berlin makes its mark on punk-funk outfit

IT'S A given that a new album from !!!, the band who put punctuation on the dancefloor, is always going to be a reason to revive the punky-funky flavour and put it back into circulation, writes JIM CARROLL

As they’ve been doing since forming in Sacremento many years, gigs and cowbell solos ago, !!! (pronounced chk chk chk) bring twitchy, compulsive, infectious punk-funk to the party with added howls and yelps. But there’s a few twists in the template for the band’s fourth album.

Strange Weather, Isn't It?is a darker set of grooves and rhythms than anything they've put their exclamation marks on before. It's the sound of a band moving their feet in a different direction and slowly getting used to the feel and make-up of the new terrain.

Maybe, says frontman Nic Offer, that change in the musical weather is down to the band decamping to Berlin with producer Eric Broucek to record part of the album.

“It was a group decision because Tyler [Pope] had moved to Berlin,” Offer explains. “It’s been a while since we all lived in the same town so we have to pick a place to be together when we decide to record an album. It was a chance to go to Berlin so we went for it.” Offer admits that, like most bands who head to the German capital to record some music, they had flights of fancy about recording a “Berlin” album.

“Yeah, I think we just expected it to come out sounding like one of those Einstürzende Neubauten or Bowie/Iggy records.” However, the city had a different effect than expected on the band’s creative mindset. “In some ways, Berlin did live up to our expectations,” says Offer. “We loved it, had a great time and it was definitely beneficial to what we produced in the studio as a band. But in some ways, we thought we’d end up with a record which sounded more like Berlin. We expected a more darker sounding record, sure, and there are some really dark moments, but it also turned out to be more of a pop record.

“That surprised us. There’s some of the poppiest stuff we’ve done as a band on the record, like stuff I can imagine everyone being able to dance to.”

Like many acts, Offer believes the vibe of a new city does rub off on a band, especially a place as vibrant after dark as Berlin. “There’s something happening there that just isn’t happening in New York or anywhere in the United States and that is totally exciting. You get that feeling of possibilities.

“There are great clubs there and we were trying to soak up all that too, as well as make the record. For someone coming from the States, Berlin is a bit of a revolution in that regard. The first time I ever danced to techno was on a trip to Europe years ago. You just didn’t get that in Sacramento. Travelling broadens your horizons and you soak in everything you experience.”

Turning those experiences into music that crossed many divides is what converted many people to the !!! cause to begin with in the early years of the last decade. Most came to the band via live shows which are still immense experiences full of blockbuster grooves and top-drawer rattles.

“We were always a party band,” says Offer. “When we started, people used to stand back and try to be cool and we were really bored with that. It wasn’t fun for us as a band or for our audience. So we just started a party band and we made a lot of friends. We wanted to throw as wild a gig as you could get away with. I hope we’re still doing that. But at least people come to the show now expecting to dance.”

While the live show remains as happily unhinged as ever (judging by the band’s appearance earlier this summer at the Body Soul festival), Offer feels that !!!’s recording experience has changed for the better over the years.

“I think we make better records now,” he says. “It took time to get to the stage where we didn’t keep hiding the good ideas. But making a record always means a struggle between us. It’s always an adventure with us. Some of us want to go one way and others want to go in a completely different direction. This time, it was about old synths and new synths and it’s fun to watch that play out.”

“In other ways, though, it’s still the same as it has always been. Songs are worked on again and again because we keep changing things up to the last minute. It’s still about the eternal quest for the groove.”

There have, though, been a number of personnel changes since Myth Takes was released in 2007. As was perhaps always going to be the case with an outfit which has occasionally featured seven or eight members, there’s been a steady exodus over the years. Band co-founder John Pugh quit in the middle of the tour for the last record and there was also the tragic death last year of former drummer Jerry Fuchs.

“It’s inevitable in a 14-year career that there will be some changes,” notes Offer. “There are still four original members and seeing as most bands comprise of four members, that’s pretty good.”

• Strange Weather, Isn't It?is released on Warp Records today