All Blood: A Review of Invisible Ax
Self-described “all trans band” 4th Curtis release their EP, Invisible Ax today (11/29)
cover art by Joshlynn Borreson
In the time leading up to the release they’ve taken to tweeting under “LIZZIE BORDEN” (though they are known for changing their username whenever it suits them). And in Invisible Ax it’s all funny ‘til it’s not. On the opening track ‘Nonstop’ lead vocalist and guitarist Lex Noens sings “blood on my guitar strings makes me feel so intense”, making Taylor Swift’s teardrops null in comparison. This opener is both a testament to what they’re willing to drain themselves of and what has been taken from them. The vocals and keys of Ty Gale shine on ‘Marie Antoinette’, playing a posh minor tone that almost mocks Maddie Morley’s energetic drumming. And 4th Curtis’ impeccable charm is ever present, Noens comparing themselves to Marie Antoinette because their “rack is huge”. Noens and Gale have a knack for singing their gags with the same seriousness as their anxieties, lyrics like “I want to be the older woman my kid’s friends want to fuck” are treated with purpose. Everything on Invisible Ax is heightened, and when Gale sings “do you think I’m pretty?” it’s with painful sincerity. Invisible Ax has a keen way of answering its own questions.
From a distance the EP is a catchy onslaught with a dark sense of humor but up close it’s wringing its hands and asking you a very important question, afraid of being just an exposed body. The stand out track is ‘Julius Cesar’, Noens seering with pop vigor. Invisible Ax never allows anything to sound as dire as it really is, it bobs and weaves in constant motion. “Julius Cesar died last night/the throne is mine for the taking”. The throne- what it must be like to briefly feel full despite so much emptiness. To see a piece of a person who you’ll never wholly experience again. When all else fails we desire a place we consider home and someone to call our names in a way that sounds familiar, but that warmth has long been forgotten. There’s a painful irony aching inside Invisible Ax: 4th Curtis is giving every piece of themselves, their limbs and bodily fluids, but the one thing being demanded of them is something they don’t have to give. Morley drives ‘Goth Fuck’ (or as the lyric sheet for the press reads “spelled Goth F-ck if not allowed in a specific application)”, the most self indicting piece of the EP. But the rock interlude with Gale and Morley softly ‘ooh-ing’ as backup suggests otherwise. “I want to hurt him/I want him to like it” sings Noens, 4th Curtis never being ones to write themselves as strongest on the page. As artists they find themselves both the protagonist and antagonist of their own lives. They are a comedy and a tragedy, their own greek chorus piling in and reminding us of the existence of sadness and love and pain and memes.
When you run out of ways to write about sadness or grief or oppression you weaponize it. You turn it into heated sax solos and irresistible melodies. The EP closes with the blistering ‘No Artist’, Noens and Gale lamenting “why do I always break for the broken ones?” They are focused and loving. 4th Curtis plays the self-deprecating role well, but this EP involves comparisons to Marie Antoinette, the Virgin Mary, Julius Cesar, and Lizzie Borden- people known for the way they exchange flesh. But the band isn’t a broken limb or a drained vessel, they’re the weapon, the wielder, the predator. They’re unflinching. Their sense of humor congeals it together, death and sweetness thickening to concrete in order to support the emotional weight. Invisible Ax explores pain in a way that is clever and catchy and for whatever reason, historical. It is difficult work asking people to listen to your flaws and not asking them to absolve you of guilt in return but to sit with you inside it. And in doing so they’ve transmogrified their sound completely. Invisible Ax, in name alone, is not an invitation but a statement of intent. It is waiting, unseen, indicative of what’s to come with absolute precision. And did 4th Curtis get away with it? Of course they did. But the axe is double ended. Like the EP’s poster child Lizzie Borden, they’ve gotten away with it all. But they still carry the evidence with them.
photo by Kathy Callahan
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