Instrumental trio Laser Dad are an impressive and obvious choice for any listener who holds technical mastery in high esteem. But for those who wouldn't know the difference between the Dorian mode and Depeche Mode, the band's virtuosity supports strong and interesting compositions, full of unexpected twists and turns.
This much is clear from the opening "Hard Gee-zus," which grounds its dizzying guitar melodies in a solid rhythmic base that manages to make an odd-time drum beat groove as naturally as the J.B.s. Famed music critic Jon Savage wrote, with regard to the Sex Pistols in his punk history England's Dreaming, that Johnny Rotten had the ability to articulate complex ideas in a manner that anyone could understand. The same theory applies to Laser Dad, and that is perhaps their greatest strength.
"Disco Dad" is an exciting, surprising cousin to the late-'90s Kraftwerk/prog rock fusions of Trans Am, adorned by analog synthesizer textures and organically played electro beats.
Shit Ton's ostensible centerpiece is the de facto trilogy, "One Out of Three Is BAD," "Two Out of Three AIN'T Bad" and "Three Out of Three Is PERFECT." Encapsulating Laser Dad's original recipe of competently played Stooges riffs, beautiful wind chime harmonics, rhythms that shape-shift from knotty to hovering and post-punk sheen, it's the sensory damaging zenith on a record full of climaxes.
