You Must Be Free

If you hear a raucous clamor of guitars, bass, and drums wafting from your local museum, chances are the New Humans are somewhere inside. Their distinctive brand of alt-rock noise made a splash at the re-opening of the Walker Art Center, raised some minimalist-styled hell at the Swiss Institute – Contemporary Art, and are slated to shake things up at PS1 sometime soon. In a gimmicky sort of art-informed slapstick, the group often performs in colorful conjoined outfits, sporting loud matching stripes—real cute. Of course the artworld glitterati eats it all up. This limited edition self-titled CD captures the collective’s improbable mélange of bona fide punk, noise, and old school minimalism. If pressed, I’d have place it somewhere in the Ernstalbrecht Stiebler meets Black Flag camp.

—RN