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From The Desk Of Trans Am’s Nathan Means: American Grey Squirrel Vs. U.K. Red Squirrel

Trans Am walks the same line between substance and style that its namesake car model did in its heyday. Often considered the leading light of the ’90s post-rock scene, the Maryland-based trio switches between big, loud rawk riffing and spacey, experimental ambience, sometimes within the same song. Trans Am gleans imagery and sounds from the synth- and vocoder-heavy music of decades past, but also informs its songs with a detached, millennial indie attitude. The group shifts gears from album to album, and this intellectual restlessness continues with the atmospheric, trippy Thing (Thrill Jockey). The LP should appeal both to new-school stoner-metal fans and the hippie oldheads at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, where Trans Am will be playing a free show on August 18. Nathan Means will also be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our Q&A with the band.

Means: Recently in the U.K., there has been a strong anti-grey squirrel movement. These highly successful, intelligent North American mammals were introduced to the British Isles in the Victorian era as a novelty. Due to their superior intellect and physique, as well as the North American Squirrel Herpes virus they introduced, they quickly overran England. Now, the British red squirrel can only be found in remote parts of Scotland. The anti-immigrant squirrel sentiment has grown so strong that some adherents now capture and kill grey squirrels. These extremists defend their violence by invoking the ecological purity of the British Isles. This is a ridiculous point of view. If one were to truly be so concerned with the “native” ecology of the British Isles, there definitely would be no Staffordshire terriers in the council estates. Nor would there be Wombles in Wimbledon. In addition, why is this indefensible, abstract goal considered more valid than the life of an individual grey with its own dreams and desires?

Video after the jump.