The immediate reaction to an album title like In the Court of the Wrestling Let’s should be to wonder how this album can compare to anything by King Crimson. After all, the album title is an obvious reference to King Crimson’s famous album In the Court of the Crimson King. But there’s no good reason to compare the two as they happen to be very different animals. If you feel a really serious need to compare someone to Let’s Wrestle, why not Pete & the Pirates, another excellent British rock band with fast, catchy songs? I would be very sad to have never heard Pete & the Pirates, and you will be very sad when you realize how long it took for you to hear Let’s Wrestle. Their debut was released in England a good 10 months ago but it took until now for Merge to release the same album in the U.S. In that time, Let’s Wrestle have built up quite a bit of critical acclaim for In the Court of the Wrestling Let’s from numerous magazines and blogs overseas. Yet here in the boring ol’ U.S.A. we were missing out of the infectious, upbeat rock songs that should have been hits everywhere. But Let's Wrestle are finally here—playing SXSW, touring the country with Titus Andronicus and Quasi (making their show a must see) and selling their album stateside, giving you no excuse to ignore them.
The slight jump of mood and tempo from song to song is part of what keeps In the Court of the Wrestling Let's so exciting. You’ll notice it right when “My Arms Don’t Bend That Way, Dammit!” moves into “I’m in Love with Destruction.” When you hear the opening riff to the former track you can already sense a feeling of fighting through tough times, while the latter evokes feelings of getting over a mistake. Both songs feature a climactic build-up to the chorus, complete with messy British singing. “Tanks” is a sadder song with—if I may continue the Pete & the Pirates comparisons—a very similar sound to the best song on Little Death titled “Knots.” The changes continue throughout the sixteen short songs, but the quality hardly wavers. “My Schedule” is a rather pretty, slower song. “We Are the Men You Will Grow to Love Soon” might as well be sitting comfortably on a California jukebox a few records down from Pet Sounds. “Diana’s Hair” would make a perfect soundtrack to the end credits of an Apatow romantic comedy. And yet, all of these vastly different songs are held together with a lo-fi guitar and a consistently fast strumming , and almost drunken emotion in the vocals that keep them sounding powerful and charmingly untrained. While it’s not groundbreaking, the consistent quality of each song (and the great moments in “We Are the Men You Will Grow to Love Soon” and “My Arms Don’t Bend That Way, Dammit!”) make it an album that shouldn’t be ignored.
There are many reasons why In the Court of the Wrestling Let’s is a great record, but I’m going to stick with the fact that it makes me happy. In fact, it’s been doing so for a few months now and hasn’t bothered to let up. Now the Americans get a chance to hear what they’ve been missing, and you, potentially being an American, shouldn’t wait another minute. Let’s Wrestle doesn't make flawed music, because each flaw just makes you like them a little more.
Track List:
1. My Arms Don't Bend That Way, Damn It!
2. I'm In Love With Destruction
3. Tanks
4. My Eyes Are Bleeding (Interlude)
5. My Schedule
6. We Are the Men You'll Grow to Love Soon
7. In Dreams
8. Atlantis (Interlude)
9. Song for Old People
10. I Won't Lie to You
11. Diana's Hair
12. I'm In Fighting Mode
13. Insects
14. It's Not Going to Happen
15. Waltz (Interlude)
16. In the Court of the Wrestling Let's
