CD Release - Fag Static

There is something inherently absurd in naming a band Fag Static. That is especially true of a band whose sound is a merger of complex noise, structure and ADD melodies that draws comparisons to everything from the angular mathematics of Don Caballero to the mutant-rock stylings of Captain Beefheart. Former Blame Game/God’s America guitarist and vocalist Ian Deaton hones such contradictory aesthetics not for shock value, but to poke fun at the layers of PC ideology that underscore his musical projects.

The group, which also features former Blame Game bass player Chris Ware, along with drummer Daniel Deckebach and its most recent addition, vocalist Josh Lyner, didn’t embrace the name at first. But the name stuck after a bit of timeless and well-timed jock/punk harassment. “We thought the name was funny but weren’t sure if we wanted to use it,” Ware says. “One night after we played a show at the I Can Fly House, a carful of Georgia Tech students drove by and yelled, ‘Fags!’ After that it was like, ‘OK, that’s our name.’”

In August, Fag Static, along with its original vocalist Scott Rogers (formerly of Electrosleep International), convened with Deerhunter bassist Josh Fauvre to record five songs for the self-titled release. The day of the recording Rogers was fired from the group. But rather than scrap the recording, Deaton penned an entirely new set of lyrics in about half an hour and recorded them in a single take. The resulting songs are a blast of abrasive screams and squalls that recall the earliest Blame Game demos.

The vocals serve as indecipherable, textural elements, but they are only a quick fix. With the addition of Lyner, the group’s lyrical dynamic is changing. “I have written a lot of new lyrics for the songs that we have, and I want them to be more than just something in the background,” Lyner says. “Good lyrics can tie a song together and really give it a visual presence.”

Though Fag Static is still finding its legs, the group’s shotgun evolution has been a tumultuous and ridiculous affair culminating in a sound that is equally chaotic.

Fag Static plays Lenny’s w/ Thank God & the Shylights at 9 p.m. Fri., Dec. 14. $7. www.lennysbar.com.