Feelings
Hate is a Shape
Beat Me
Mr. Greedy Chef
We'll See Santa
Mr. Revere
The Crumbs Are the Cure
Diagnostics
Mr. Crumb
I Don't Care, Witch
Just An Old Fashioned Hate Song
Knock on Wood
Accordion Song
Mr. Crumb (reprise)
U.S.A.
Untitled
Niceboy
Take the Cake
Symbiote 4774

Hate is a Shape - video extract
U.S.A. - video extract
Feelings - video extract
Mr. Revere
We'll See Santa

Let’s forget the lack of information on this mysterious act and instead focus on the music; the rhapsody that a crew of marionettes jiggles on threads of rusting chains to. Dustmuffin & The Aluminum Cans parody music styles that populate human myth with sunny days and good memories, by shredding insulated diorama’s, shards of glass a puzzle of what once was, now in a new form.

Nineteen tracks supply the listener with a carnival incarnation crammed into your doorstep, the mad sonic journey just a breath longer than forty-five minutes, a veritable atavism gone horribly wrong for all the best reasons. Sparse industrial rhythms warble lo-fi, ghosted and moogified (sic) in eighties-esque melody, hip and gothic with gyring lyrics to match, elements of early Ministry, The Cure burst like the frequent pop-culture lyrical references, but to be honest neither of those acts supply any lead-in. If anything, Dustmuffin & The Aluminum Cans, promote their pantomime from the shell left by acts like Chrome, taking song into warped and catchy horrors. A sardonic mouth frilled with barbs lurks in each song, even the lilting old-time tune, ‘Beat Me’, is disturbing in its happiness and let’s not go to 'We’ll See Santa' and the accompanying video with its spoliating take on woolen dolls. The music delves dark, noisy at times, gothic tunes without the pomp and pretence, dance tracks for the demented – those you don’t really want to wear your leather with; the insane are at work here, and it is a beautiful thing to watch. With classic tracks like 'U.S.A.' (the New National Anthem) and 'Feelings' you can be assured to freak out any mainstream friends with your recommendation for a little disco you know they’ll love. To hate.

Once again, Punch Records push the boundary in releasing an artist that breaks boundaries and if you’re familiar with any of the Italian label’s releases you’ll know to expect the unexpected with this release. As with most Punch Records releases this album is released in a single panel fold out digipak in full colour, simple liner notes – though to quote one passage for the reader regarding the "Essential Recordings"; “Recordings recovered from cassettes and wax cylinders that were originally thought to be destroyed in a convent fire.” (sic) – you can taste a little of the mindset. Further valediction of their pleasant psychosis is a collection of no less than five full length quicktime videos made with the same haphazard and creepy approach to their songs, all wrapped in a web-derived environment.

NYR