1990s no-grunge a la Gumball, Pavement and The Flaming Lips' Hit To Death in the Future Head become odd bedfellows with Talking Heads on At The Smash Party. I suppose that's precisely what lo-fi holdovers Loud Clappers signed up for on this Mike Deming-produced album; Deming's indie gliterati elbow-rubbing stretches from The Pernice Brothers to Silver Jews to Apples In Stereo. Flashes of Pixies are detectable during "Hiatus Coming", a sludgy, shouted-anthem muckfest that summons the ghosts of the noisiest Pavement tracks. The group, stinking from top to bottom with the sound of overdriven guitars, slides effortlessly into "Flying Through the Trees", an oddly catchy tune with a vocal melody that would make a stone-sober Bob Pollard proud. However, the chance to step on a distortion pedal is just too tempting for these boys, so "Engine Driver" forces the Dead Milkmen through a bruised Marshall stack en route to a sing-along chorus stolen from Evan Dando's songbook.