The album starts off with "Attendant", a song that seems to skip an opening as it cuts straight to a melody and pulse with a Nirvana-esque attitude. Instantly from the first introduction, I Don't Believe Anything gives off the likeable familiarity that a good-natured stranger impresses. And following friendly first encounter, the succession of tracks gradually reveal the extent of the album's vision, the depth of that stranger's complete personality. From the bright fury of "Reaction," through the interlude/sound collage that is "Calculette", to the percussion-less folk ballad "Stranger". As a whole, the album proves to be equal parts tender and violent, detached and passionate, manic and romantic. For instance, far unlike the throbbing melody of the opener, the last song "Wake," a six minute musical monologue featuring bare vocals and guitar tremolo. Far off from the collectedly detached attitude of the opening track, "Wake" portrays a sense of vulnerability and concludes the album with a home-sick closure.
It's all in there: shimmering layers of raw guitar, fleshy bass lines, mottled vocals that sound like they're being sung through a megaphone. Vocals which contain lyrics that are obscure but discernible enough to make a lot of sense. And finally drums that lay down the foundation, organize the chaos of Cottage Jefferson's lo-fi grit. A lo-fi grit which, through all it's grittiness, translates a sense of musical exoneration.
However, the Rochester natives travel musical territory that speaks beyond its camouflage as a mimicry of 90's college rock. Rather, this release from Cottage Jefferson (similarly to Yuck) serves as a testament to the genre's modern day evolution/continuation. The overall collection has a cohesiveness that can only be attributed to trial, error, and hard work. And for all you out there who appreciate flowery metaphors, it could be imagined that if the creation of I Don't Believe Anything had been summoned from a single premise, it would perhaps be a line that Hill sings in "Stranger:" "I believe in a God that doesn't know me."
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