(Seeland)

www.seelandrecords.com

Nearly thirty years into their career, it seems strange for Negativland – the West Coast’s avant-pop avatar of mash-up sampling and controversial cut-up – to make an all-out album of hum worthy songs. It’d be as if William Burroughs decided to write kids novels. (Then again, he did do that Cat book before he died).

Yet here’s main man Mark Hosler writing pop-ishly melodic tunes and parsing N-land’s collage ideal into the mix of Thomas Dimuzio & Co.’s oddly contemporary instrumentation. A lot of this effort feels like an effort – a joke in which America’s elder avant-garde sweethearts make actual songs and isn’t that a laugh! – complete with radio adverts and read-out-loud news bits.

That element of concession to conception makes Thigmotactic sound and feel dated. But once you find yourself beyond the tease, Negativland come off as coy, cocky seducers of pop’s music challenge and even manage to write about love and meat and love of meat (lots of meat and meat byproducts: “Jack Pastrami,” “Steak on a Whim”  “Pork in the Store,” “Your Skin Is Gelatin”) with seasoned sensual aplomb and even epic tonality. Hey, maybe they learned more from that U2 law suit than legalese.

Standout Tracks: “Nixon Died Today,” “Influential You” A.D. AMOROSI