Here it is, the last batch of reviews I'll be unloading for the year (minus an upcoming, socially-compelled, year end list), so drink it in in all my curmudgeonly, grumpy criticism.  What can I say, my blunt honesty will be the death of me.

CELL PRESS, s/t EP

Well I’ll be goddamned if these Canadians, who are just fucking around with a project band, don’t know how to lay out some killer jams.  This is the sort of music that will make you grow a beard (regardless of X or Y chromosomes) just by listening to it and obscure band patches will begin to sprout from whatever clothes you’re wearing.  Pairing up some burly barbarian riffs, courtesy of membership of The Great Sabatini, and then letting drummer Mark McGee (Architect, The Chariot) go all Keelhaul-berserk over it results in four tracks of peak riff mountain scaled via hitching a ride with Master Blaster that lives somewhere between the aforementioned Keelhaul and Harkonen.  There’s a fifth track as well, but it’s really just 11 minutes of feedback/improvisation and I’d much rather they just played one riff for that whole time if they were having trouble coming up with more material.  It’s really the only setback here.  The rest is golden and I’d love to see them come up with more. (self-released)

 

COFFIN APARTMENT, “Full Torso Apparition”

Aside from these chaps being local I want to give this a nod simply for the fact that I think the cover art is so bad ass.  It’s really simple, but looks super cool.  However, it really wouldn’t lead one to think that the actual music contained behind that cover is raging, gnarled math-y metal, the likes of which bands such as Voivod, early Mastodon, Today Is the Day, and contemporaries such as Sulaco would share hivemind likeness and shred together as an army.  I can definitely get down with music like this, but I prefer it to be on the shorter end because there’s already a lot to take in so the two tracks in the middle- “A Quagmire Of Filth and Shame” and “Hyperphagic Blues”- work best for my attention span as they run below four minutes each and also express some of the most interesting songwriting the band conjures forth.  The rest of the tracks err on the longer side, a few of which stretch out their length via somewhat melodic mid-passages that are actually cool to listen to (sometimes it feels like bands who do this are just adding filler) and you get the added bonus of really metal-sounding song titles, like “Scavenger Of Regurgitation”!  Who goes around dumpster diving for puke?  I know I’ve come across it before in my adventures, but to be in search of it?  C’mon, that’s just gross.  (Silver Stature Sounds)

 

COWER, “Boys”

I feel like there have been a bunch of bands that have used this name, but this one is a project between members of USA Nails and Petbrick, based out of the UK.  On this release they are picking from dark post-punk, with bits of what could maybe pass for slightly industrial music, akin to maybe Killing Joke, but also mixed with some noisy swagger and occasional lighter moments.  The two singles they released prior to the record’s release- “Enough” and “Midnight Sauce” are the most directly engaging songs and have eclectic energy about them with their somewhat more straightforward approach as filtered through rather unconventional methods.  Although it’s “Proto-Lion Tamer” mixing synths with a dirty, noisy blast to propel it that makes for the most aggressive song and leans a bit more towards the USA Nails membership present.  However, they dial it back into morose and somber territory with the downright spooky songs “For the Boys” and “Saxophone By the Water”.  On closing song, “Park Jogger” it sounds as if they’re going to go out on some noise-sample-heavy Neurosis “Through Silver In Blood”-style apocalypse-bringer, but conclude the track instead with a huge, shimmering Jesu-like ascent into bliss.  It’s quite excellent really.  So yeah, this release is a kind of mixed bag of different styles, but it strangely works out pretty well and it’s an overall engaging listen from beginning to end.  (HumanWorth)

ILSA, “Preyer”

For something like 10 years now Baltimore’s Ilsa have been bringing horror-tinged macabre sludge metal like a blood and guts-soaked machete to the ears of basement crust lords.  They certainly owe a chunk of their sound to acts from another beaten-down city, namely Clevo’s Integrity and Ringworm, just imagine slower and a bit more crust-sludge.  And wouldn’t you know it, the current Integrity lineup includes members of Ilsa.  How about that?  Regardless, Ilsa excel at this downtrodden, evil, and mean-spirited sound.  However, I gotta admit, it kind of moves at one pace and doesn’t really change up all that much from song to song.  It’s like one pretty good song, repeated over an entire album (6 albums if we’re going through the whole discography), and it gets kind of dull after awhile.  But hey, murder confession samples, chunky riffs, mid-paced double kick, long hair, black shirts that refuse to have sleeves, cult 70’s pulp horror movies, and black jean jackets that were blue when they were shoplifted.  If that’s your thing you could do a lot worse.  (Relapse)

 

MOON PUSSY, s/t

The award for best band name is now claimed so don’t try anymore.  And as much as this group is lacking any conceivable amount of fucks to be given regarding their name their music equally yields little to no remorse for it’s minimalist clatter and abundant chaos.  All they need is drums, a guitar, and aggressively drunken howling to get their point across.  Sometimes it manifests as the perfect beer glass-smashing rocker of a simple riff played as if a swarm of bees were operating a chainsaw (“Hurt Wrist”, “Criff and Moths”), and other times it’s the sound of people drunk off their ass after a night of fighting, fucking around, and forgetting that the ‘record’ button was on (“Duo”, “Pillow Talk”).  I understand having some variety on a record is good to keep interest, but having ass-beaters like “Fail Better”, or the swaggering unease of “Peanut Butter”, is really enough to keep my attention.  The couple improvisational tracks seem like filler tacked on to an otherwise good record.  It sounds a bit lo-fi, but they make the most of it with them just beating the shit out of their instruments.  (The Ghost Is Clear)

 

SCIENCE MAN, “II”

Science Man is the solo project from John Toohill, guitarist of Alpha Hopper.  Science Man takes a bit of a different tack.  It’s wild, unhinged garage punk powered with a drum machine.  On the first LP (we’re on “II” here, keep up) the drum machine was a bit more obvious as the drums really sounded like a drum machine.  On “II” I think John figured things out a bit more and a lot of the drums here sound a little more organic, although tracks like “Brazilian Napkins” definitely have that Big Black industrial feel.  Musically it’s still wild and zany, like I’m listening to Jon Spencer Blues Explosion mixed with Lords and Hot Snakes.  It’s music for people with a screw loose to get vile and weird.  This record also comes with a flexi with an extra track on it, which is a little weird why it wasn’t just added to the LP since the whole thing clocks in with 9 songs at around 20 minutes.  (Big Neck Records)

 

SOUL GLO, “Songs To Yeet At the Sun” EP

Soul Glo might be the perfect example of me being too old to fully grasp the hype around them.  I’ve really made an effort to grasp what they’re doing in the past and I think this new EP actually makes some strides in honing in their songwriting, creating some clarity in their swirl of chaos.  I get that it’s completely insane punk rock music presented in a way out of the norm for most hardcore adherents.  I’m just not fully along for the ride. The first two tracks here- “(Quietly) Do the Right Thing” and “29” go for a bit more straightforward super fast and manic hardcore with enough twists and turns that will force repeated listens until you unlock the lightning round puzzle going on, but not so ridiculous that it simply results in confusion.  The third track is a straight up hip-hop piece to break things up.  The last couple tracks err in a more metallic hardcore direction with Converge-ish moments and some chunky breakdowns.  Amongst it all, and this is the part that is hardest for me to latch on to, is the vocals.  Lyrically, it’s bold, stream-of-conscious style stories and situations that appear suited for a hip-hop beat, but instead are screamed, sounding out of place.  When you’re trying to cram an entire page of thoughtfully conceived lyrics into a minute-long shredder, sounding like the dude from Saetia (whom I could never get into), it comes off as jumbled and unpleasant.  It makes the music sound that much more chaotic and perhaps that’s the appeal for others.  For me it’s like the music and lyrics exists as two polar opposite entities that are both good on their own, but when combined do not mix in a way that feels coherent to my ears. (Secret Voice)

STREAM THE NEW ALPHA HOPPER RECORD IN FULL!

 

The new ALPHA HOPPER record, "Alpha Hex Index", officially comes out tomorrow, 11/20/2020.  However, if you just can't wait that long you can stream the whole thing now over at Ghettoblaster Magazine!

*Just as an update, there has been a minor delay with the actual records and they will be shipping in a couple weeks (a bonus being I live just a couple miles from the pressing plant so as soon as they are done I can get them and send them out!).  However, all pre-orders will receive their digital downloads on time and CD orders have also shipped already.  All other digital platforms should have the record up on time as well.

In the meantime, don't hesitate to check out "Alpha Hex Index" and then grab yourself a copy!  Get it HERE.

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER REVIEWS

Can we all breathe just a little bit now? Seriously. Some of this stuff has been sitting around for a minute and if it wasn't super apparent I've kind of had my hands full with label stuff lately so sorry not to be impeccably consistent with the reviews. But here we are and here you go. So late fall entries for your attention.

 

ANXIETY SPIRAL demo

Boy, talk about an apt band name for 2020.  If hardcore punk attempts to be underground and outside mainstream comprehension then these cats failed miserably at a moniker that only a select few can relate to.  On-the-nose name aside, this is what happens when a couple Fight Amp dudes start yet another band with the intention of taking attitudes from their regular crop of noise-drenched scum rock outfits and apply it to cranking out a hardcore tape in the space of probably a couple drunken afternoons spent together.  There’s nothing wrong with writing some fast-as-fuck jams on the fly and still sounding rad because you’ve been grinding it out for decades in other groups.  Four songs, a little over eight minutes, what else do you need to know?  Go fast, get fucked up. (Knife Hits)

 

BENT LIMBS, “Soft Mind”

This is a really slow burn.  Half of Blood Sun Circle has re-convened to create a body of songs that take all those slow and eerie parts they developed on their two crushing full lengths and expanded on those sorts of ideas for a full length.  I’m not going to lie, this takes awhile to get through.  It’s not full of big giant riffs, or easily digestible dirges of sound.  It moves slow.  Sure, there are some earworms to be found, and a few songs that fit into a somewhat compact format.  But the entire middle section of this record quietly, and deliberately, moves from song to song, sometimes with nary a hint that one track is ending and another is beginning.  It demands repeated listens as it takes one morose turn after another.  Not all of it excites me, or makes me want to investigate further, but I’d say at least half of it is quite enjoyable as it exercises great restraint and tension.  From a personal standpoint, I’m so accustomed to these guys coming at listeners with ungodly volume and wild energy in all their previous musical endeavors that this takes some getting used to since they’re still displaying a kind of intensity.  But it’s one that presents itself in unsettling quiet, long build-ups, and tension so thick you need a machete to cut through it all.  For fans of grey ever-present skies, or that scene in “The Neverending Story” where the horse drowns.  Seriously harsh in an epically somber sort of way.  (Drops Of Us)

 

BUMMER/ THE BODY split 7”

Bummer drop a new song that continues their war against smartypants rock and just slams you with monster riffs that resemble Gravedigger steamrolling over a line of junkyard hearses.  By far one of the most satisfyingly loud bands I’ve seen one just needs imagine this song coming at you at 130 dbs and you get an idea of the awesome power of Bummer.

The Body, on the other hand, are one of the most unsatisfyingly loud bands I’ve ever seen and that was when they still just used a guitar and drums, before they went all harsh noise, or whatever they do.  I haven’t had the interest in exploring them since, no matter how many Pitchfork writers prematurely bust a nut at the utterance of their name, and this is really no different.  I just don’t get it, man.  Or, rather, I just have no interest.  (Thrill Jockey)

 

CHIMES OF BAYONETS, “Archiver” 7”

This Ithaca, NY-based trio is comprised of members who have been playing together in various other outfits for a very long time.  If I’m not mistaken, there’s a little bit of musical chairs happening between this and other groups they have been a part of.  Whatever the case, the chief complaint I find myself levying is that this group sounds rather unrehearsed, or not quite studio-ready.  It makes the songs sound somewhat clunky and unfinished.  I’m not certain if they are going for this style, but what I do hear is something sort of Dischord-adjacent, like any number of those .5 releases they would do as collaborations with another label?  Or if anyone remotely remembers the stuff on the Divot Records label- that sort of mid-to-late 90’s Chicago brand of indie-emo?  That’s what Chimes Of Bayonets sounds like to me.  Is it what they’re going for?  I’m not certain.  But you get three songs on this 7” of the aforementioned sound, backed occasionally by a bit of saxophone and the occasional sample. (Habit Forming Records)

 

KRAUSE 7”

Where you been all my life Greek noise rock?  Besides Greece, that is?  Here’s a two-song jobber of ugly riffs, noisy sludge where you know the guitarist is banging his fist on his amp every couple of songs because the tubes are shorting out, and the singer’s already smashed three beer bottles on the stage before they hit their first note, and they probably spent just as much on their gear collectively as a band as they did on an undoubtedly obsessive Unsane collection.  These two ugly ragers hit the spot in some Eyehategod-Grizzlor mash-up, complete with wacky cover art emphasizing the strange and grotesque, just like their music.  Vocals blurted out through a busted Radio Shack mic across the two tracks, the first being a bit more on the repetitive end that takes the lead riff and beats you to death with it.  The second song sounds a little more slick and is just a bit more upbeat, letting the bass lead before guitar skronk and feedback socks you across the face like a madball.  (Inner Ear Records)

 

MAN AT ARMS, “Good Thinking”

For a two-piece this apparently long-running Michigan duo are all over the map.  At times they deal in a sort of lo-fi Shellac kind of aesthetic, but with purposeful melody in the vocals.  Other times they tool around with some sludge (which only sort of works with the lo-fi leanings) that reminds me of another (rather unknown) duo- Liquid Limbs, but with less bombast.  And in other sections of this collection they sort of meander off and do a kind of free-association thing, or maybe Minutemen with less herky-jerky weirdness.  This is the first release for the band since 2008 so I’m not sure if they just work really slow, but I feel like with a better recording some of these songs could have more life.  As it stands they sound a bit on the weak side.  I know it’s just drums and guitar, so there’s always that potential for sounding a little thin (and perhaps that’s on purpose), but to me it feels like there’s a desire to sound a little bigger and it’s just not happening.  (self-released)

 

METZ, “Atlas Vending”

Metz is instant gratification to me.  It doesn’t matter what they do, I know I’m going to like it instantly.  They’re a sure bet.  So I was fine with the scuttlebutt that this record was making some attempts at a rather altered track for them, which is to say, some more melody in both the riffs and the vocals.  Honestly, there’s not much different than any Metz fan won’t thoroughly enjoy.  But if they want to convince us their new record is more melodic then, sure, we’ll go with that.  I will say, though, this is the best sounding record they have released to date, so kudos on the studio expertise.

Things start out with a strange, nervous tick; a thumping, piercing jab that explodes into chaos via “Pulse”.  From there things move more into familiar Metz territory with fast and punk-y tracks like “Blind Youth Industrial Park”, “The Mirror”, and quite possibly my favorite minute-and-a-half song this year- the ultra catchy, melodic, and furiously quick “No Ceiling”.  On the b-side things start off with the post-hardcore-ish dirge “Draw Us In”, followed by another quick and dirty.  Things take a more meandering and contemplative aside with “Framed By a Comet’s Tail” and then close out with the fantastically epic and gloriously long-winded “A Boat To Drown In”.  Metz always find a way to make the strange and chaotically noisy sound downright fun and exciting and I will continuously love them for that.  (Sub Pop)

 

NOTHING, “The Great Dismal”

I haven’t really been all that excited about Nothing since their first full length. I find something sort of off-putting about them and maybe it has more to do with their ‘couldn’t give a fuck’ online demeanor more than their actual music, so that’s on me for being pretty shallow in that regard. It’s petty, I know.  So let’s get to the actual music.  Nothing has seemed to move further into more pop and mainstream sounds over the last couple records by expanding on their 90’s shoegaze bliss, cleaner sounds, bigger production, and so forth.  And while their outright love for My Bloody Valentine is frequently on display there remains some moments where they do tread into sonically uglier, and stranger, territory that I find more interesting.  At this point in my life I believe I’ve probably heard enough airy, almost whispered, vocals to last me the remainder of my years so I’ll disregard those and move into the second half of the album, which I find far more engaging.  There’s really nothing new to be found, I just enjoy the energy on the last four songs on the record, which go from big, bendy walls of sound dreamy parts (“Blue Mecca”) to riff-oriented chunky Hum worship (“Just a Story”) and an interesting effects-drenched back-and-forth between melodic noodling and sonic black hole trench-diving in “Ask the Rust” that closes out the record.  One of the videos they made for this record made me think I was watching a re-run of Metallica’s “Unforgiven” and I just had to exit out of that nonsense right quick.  Otherwise, if you’ve been a fan of Nothing in the past you’ll more than likely enjoy this record as well.  (Relapse)

 

THOU/EMMA RUTH RUNDLE, “May Our Chambers Be Full”

By all accounts, the tectonic plate-shifting chug of Thou collaborating with the sweeping, lush atmosphere of Emma Ruth Rundle should equal something like Isis or Neurosis at their finest.  But thankfully (because it’s already been done by the aforementioned), you get something altogether different.  I mean, if you’re familiar with both groups this really does sound exactly as you might imagine, and it’s the best possible outcome of that combined sound possible.  It’s not as if they decided to throw everyone a curveball and make an electronica record or some shit.  This is big, slow, heavy songs that float with lush, melancholy melodies.  Rundle handles the majority of the vocals (as she should) and her contemplative, calming voice is a perfect match to the underlying heft of the doom-y sludge going on.  Thou vocalist Bryan Funck lends his shredding scream throughout, but it often gets pushed a bit farther back in the mix in order to let Rundle take the lead.  And, if I’m not mistaken, I believe current Thou guitarist Kara Stafford also lends her vocals here and there.  Out of the seven tracks present some lean in the more aggressive side (“Out Of Existence”), while others take a longer, calmer tone (most of “The Valley”), but I think it’s lead-off single “Ancestral Recall” that finds the perfect mix of both artists flexing at their best and is the high point of the record for me.  All this being said, is the combination of these groups the best doom-grunge one can find?  A Soundgarden at their sludgiest?  It’s not for me to say, but I will say this is an awesome pairing that works together like peanut butter and chocolate.  (Sacred Bones)

EXHALANTS SECOND PRESSING AVAILABLE TO ORDER NOW!

I know things are just a little bit crazy at the moment, but I feel like I would be remiss if I didn't mention that tomorrow (Friday, 11/6) is another Bandcamp Friday where they are waiving all their fees. This time around for new stuff we will have the repress of EXHALANTS, "Atonement" LP, which is another 250 copies on marbled peach vinyl. As a bonus with the record you will get a download of the record (duh), but additionally, will come with a code for a pro-recorded live set featuring some unreleased songs. 

You can hear the live tracks on the bands own page HERE. 

The physical copies of the record will come with a download of the live tracks. Pre-order the second pressing HERE. Expected to ship in early December.