If punk and metal are tough kids, tattooed out the yin-yang and obviously looking for a fight, “math rock” is the antisocial introvert that moves quietly, unnoticed by everyone until the moment he explodes. And while the implication of “math rock” might paint pictures of Weezer-like nerds playing emo-punk, the reality is a much different animal. The mathematics involved is the calculating manner of the music, a slow beat, a drone, a whispered vocal played on and on until the listener gets either too comfortable or too anxious… then all hell breaks loose.

We never would have expected it. He was such a quiet kid.

Chronologically, Three-Four is Shipping News’ third release. It is, however more like their sixth. Rather than reconvening after 2001’s Very Soon, and in Pleasant Company, individual members Jason Noble, Jeff Mueller and Kyle Crabtree went to separate corners, each recording a solo EP in as sparse a manner as possible, playing all the parts on their own. Those very limited-edition EPs (Carrier, Sickening Bridge and Variegated) are collected here. And what a collection it is.

Coming from the fertile post-rock Louisville, Kentucky scene, Shipping News lands squarely between Slint’s slow, pulsing sadness and tension-building and Shellac’s explosive piss-and-vinegar audio pipebombs. But what comes through on Three-Four is not merely the precision of calculated dynamics but an inherent beauty, especially in songs like “We Start To Drift”, a Jason Noble contribution and “Cock-A-Doodle-Doo”, from Kyle Crabtree. Crabtree, primarily the drummer, has a propulsive style of (dare I say it) John Bonham, and while all the musicianship is first-rate and passionate, it is Crabtree’s deep-room thrak that characterizes the “RMSN sound”.

There is the occasional crossing of boundaries from one contribution to the next, offering an integrated feel to the CD, rather than a sideways mixtape. Crabtree’s drums will appear on a Jeff Mueller song (like the mesmerizing instrumental closing the set, “Everglade”), various members might pop in to provide background sounds, that sort of thing. It works effectively and makes Three-Four probably the best introduction one may get to this group.

That said, some may find the songs to be overlong, too eager to hang on a phrase over and over, exchanging tension for tedium, and perhaps self-indulgent. I would counter that Shipping News is the antidote music fans, tired of formulaic three-chord punk-pop and truly self-indulgent soloing, might be looking for. Yes, it’s a bit of an acquired taste, but certainly not one to avoid.

In essence, you would do well to buy a soda for that quiet kid lurking in the periphery. You may not know what he’s actually capable of; like Shipping News Three-Four, you might be surprised by what you find.

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Shipping News

Three-Four

Released: August 16, 2003
Origination Year: 2003
Time: 68:53
Tracks: 14
Produced by: Shipping News
Style: Studio
Format: CD
Enhancement: None
Label: Quaterstick Records
Website:

Sickening Bridge Versus Horrible Bed
Haunted on Foot
Paper Lanterns
Haymaker
Dogs
We Start to Drift
Variegated
You Can't Hide the Mark Inside
Cock-A-Doodle-Doo
Non-Volant
...diamond lined star...
Wax Museum
The Architect in Hell
Everglade