Channels

Waiting for the Next End of the World (Dischord)

By Matt Siblo
Published: October 23rd, 2006 | 12:37am

Wouldn't it be nice to read something, nay anything about Channels without hearing the writer mention Burning Airlines or Jawbox? Absolutely. Will J. Robbins’s current musical output ever become disassociated from his former outfits? Well, probably not. But you can't fault Robbins for trying and you can’t blame his fan base for constantly trying to keep up.

To be fair though, Waiting for the Next End of the World isn't likely to convert anybody who hasn't found his other bands at least somewhat appealing. Channels maintain a similar aesthetic, creating a tight straightforward sound with a special emphasis on thick guitar and Robbins’ lyrical musings. And just as the album’s title would suggest, things aren’t looking so good through his eyes. Most of the lyrical attacks stem from an uneasy, Orwellian outlook on tracks such as “To the New Mandarins” and “Chivaree” where Robbins reports “this fucking century puts bombs in my dreams.” Zing!

But apparently all is not lost. Waiting closes on a high note with “Mercury,” a longing 5-minute ballad that sounds dangerously close to something on modern rock radio, specifically “Drops of Jupiter” by Train. Perhaps it’s just the Mercury/Jupiter connection but this is weepy territory through and through. Lush stringed orchestration gives way to a beautiful sounding vocal harmony that trades between Robbins and bassist Janet Morgan. Its poise is a bit over the top but where else is a band to go after an album’s worth of caustic societal critiques? 7