The Rubber Room column is a weekly look at recent and notable releases that don’t fall into the rubric of traditional reviews or reviewed material—namely 7”’s, 12”’s, 3” CDs, EPs, cassette-only, DVDs and MP3-only releases.

Cantankerous
Cantankerous EP
[Tommy Boy, 2005]

Everyone's taking a political turn these days, but Cantankerous are politics. Aggressive and nasty, but a little imprecise, the band displays the best and worst of anarchists (namely, at both ends, anarchy). The group's dirty electro/dancehall sound gets overshadowed by the bands presentation. Cool, you're wearing masks and Celtics jackets, which means you can strike fear into the heart of North Side convenience store clerks. But I do like the attitude, despite the hermaphroditic demon in your logo (nothing says anti-system like boobies and wieners). "Flesh Roast" scorches its enemies, which are pretty much everyone to the right of Dennis Kucinich. Christians and capitalists beware: this one's going to sweep the underground for 15 minutes of fury.
[Justin Cober-Lake]

Hey Willpower
Hey Willpower EP
[Cochon, 2005]

I don't believe that this earnestly-presented EP isn't a joke. Starting with the Nervous Zoolander cover image and including the band's name (its main force is Will Schwartz of Imperial Teen), hipster irony seems to be running rampant. Yet, the music doesn't come with a smirk. "Hundredaire" seems like a genuine "hey hey hey" attempt to move the crowd, and "Double Fantasy II"—notable for Tomo Yasuda's chic programming sounds honest to me. "Magic Window" breaks through the serious veneer with its silly lyrics ("party in my pants"? come on!). "Uh-Uh-Uh" is pure parody, relying on innuendo of 50 Cent-caliber subtlety. Important note: the band lists two dancers as members, but they don't come with the CD.
[Justin Cober-Lake]