Winter doldrums always seem to set in around this time, no matter where I am. I think it's just any possible allure I could have towards winter (it's much more mild in the Pacific Northwest) kind of starts fading away by this point and I'm ready for Spring, sunshine, and warmer days because frankly I get kind of bored.
Thankfully, this year has already given quite a few interesting nuggets of music to digest that I'm quite excited about and so here's a bunch of opinions about all that. Check it out for yourself and defeat boredom with new music.
BARATRO, “Terms and Conditions” EP
Outside his most-known work as part of Unsane bassist/vocalist Dave Curran has kept himself pretty busy over the years. Not only acting as a full-time touring soundman, and doing studio work, he fronted Pigs, a trio of like-minded noiseniks that made a couple records. Now he has another trio, Baratro, composed of himself and a couple fellas from Italy. So I imagine getting together for regular practices is pretty non-existent, which is probably why these tracks were recorded in 2019 and just seeing the light of day now. That all being said, Curran has such a distinct style between his raspy scream, unfuckwithable bass sound (he seriously has one of the most vicious sounds on the planet), and distinct songwriting style (his contributions to Unsane are never given enough credit in my opinion) it’s a fairly good guess as to what’s in store here on this debut EP. If you’ve ever heard a lick of Unsane in the last 15 years, or either of the albums Pigs hurled at listeners, Baratro is not far off the mark. I’d go far as to say some of the guitar work here isn’t afraid to mess around with a couple pedal effects and show off a bit of post-hardcore moodiness, but the rest is slower, mean-spirited, and pissed off noise rock of the highest caliber. It’s fucking dense, like being encased in concrete and then having the sound of sledgehammers and power drills trying to free you before you die being all you hear, dense. The tracks have been floating around digitally for a bit now, but the vinyl version is just coming to fruition now. (Sangue Dischi)
EDITRIX, “Tell Me I’m Bad”
Editrix is a dichotomy of soothing and pretty colliding head-on with the abrasive and weird. Often I like the experimentation and challenge of what they are presenting, and occasionally it just doesn’t work for me. Several songs on the A-side emphasize their clash of jittery, fuzzy punk-funk jams with vocalist/guitarist Wendy Eisenberg’s lullaby voice and it takes a few listens before it comes into focus as the work of overall good that it is. It doesn’t hurt that her vocal style is a dead ringer for Karla Schickele from Ida, and the lesser known (but more apt for comparison to this band, Beekeeper) and truly brings so much character to Editrix to balance out the sonic ADHD happening. On songs like “The History Of Dance” and “Torture” rubbery bass lays a funky foundation that is interspersed with bits of distortion and lots of twists and turns of catchy fun, while songs like “Chelsea” and “Taste” are a bit more straightforward with reckless distortion abuse and lots of bashing that I really like. “Chillwave” could be a Coriky song gifted to the band, while both “Instant” and “She Wants To Go and Party” feel like half-joking exercises in fucking around. Overall, it’s a varied record that feels sort of all over the place, but still tied together with a unique and distinct approach. (Exploding In Sound)
NONAGON, “They Birds”
I had to go back to Nonagon’s previous outing- “The Last Hydronaut”- to check and see if I was listening to the same band, because I could swear they significantly altered their sound since I last heard them a few years back. In a way, yes, they did, but not how I had thought. Previously I had thought of Nonagon as being a noisy, math rock-leaning group from the Shellac school of music. On their newest offering, “They Birds” things seem far more pretty and melodic and I’ve come to realize a lot of it had to do with the recording. Earlier efforts put an emphasis on a rumbling bass and opted for a less-polished, somewhat grimy sound. On “They Birds” everything is glossed over with a clear sheen, as if it all came straight from a J. Robbins Burning Airlines session. Each instrument is clear and precise, the tempos are a bit more upbeat, and overall, the band just got better at dialing in their sound. It’s still replete with math rock trickery and plenty of clang, but the band has improved their craft significantly in the studio. (Controlled Burn)
NOPES, “Djork”
The new Nopes record goes off in a looser, more punk direction than previous efforts while still keeping some of that Hot Snakes/Jesus Lizard love ensuring things remain full throttle throughout. Some stuff gets real weird, veering off into bizarre territory, “Lithium Hop” and “Drink the Cat” being the most mind-fucking of these examples. “Amber Is the Color Of Your Alert” not only goes for snarky song title, but also breaks out some spazzy guitar fretboard acrobatics bookending a sludgy-ass riff and one free-form fuck-all jazzy part and somehow makes the whole thing sound like a fun time at the sock hop. They close out the record with an 8 minute dirge befitting inclusion as an unreleased Unsane B-side. So when I initially stated this band plays loose and hyper dirgy punk while I’m going on about the myriad left turns they take into other territory it’s worth noting there’s 13 tracks total so you get a bunch of those fast and wild songs too. (Magnetic Eye Records)
PORTRAYAL OF GUILT, “We Are Always Alone”
Being an old person I have had the pleasure of seeing Majority Rule tons of times, as well as Pg. 99 a few times as well. I was happy to book a number of shows for both bands and they always deservedly did great on any show because they’re tremendously talented bands. Now, some 17 years, or whatever, later these Texas cats in Portrayal Of Guilt have not only picked up the torch but may be a little too on the nose in their worship. I mean, they’ve toured with both bands on their reunions, Chris Taylor (Pg. 99) has illustrated record a couple covers for them, and both Taylor and Majority Rule’s Matt Michel guest on this new record. I suppose there’s a ton of shitty, or over-done, bands P.O.G. could emulate so why not go with a couple bands that had a very unique sound? I’m definitely not mad. I mean, they nail the sound perfectly. I was a little skeptical of P.O.G. in the past because some of their sound experimentation (particularly live) didn’t feel like it worked and some of their songs felt like incomplete sketches. But that’s just me. On this record they seem to really nail what they’re going for, even if the worship is a little too familiar. The drumming here is fucking intense and occasionally gives some of these songs a bit of a spooky black metal feel, and where their influences would lyrically dip their toes into socio-political topics while keeping things personal, the lyrical fare here seems to be almost exclusively about depression and isolation. So there’s a couple differences. Either way, it’s a good listen for a band in full shred mode. (Closed Casket Activities)
SHALLOW, NORTH DAKOTA/ KEN MODE/ KOWLOON WALLED CITY split 12”
Shallow, North Dakota was a band, not an actual place. And they were from Canada. And they were also, by far, pretty much the heaviest sludge band from that enormous nation (which puts them high in the running for ‘heaviest sludge band in the world’). They recorded a couple records and split quite awhile ago. Recently, a member of that band has had some very serious medical issues and despite Canada’s progressive social healthcare stage 4 is still a motherfucker so some people got together to help out a bit with this benefit compilation. This record combines a long-unreleased song from the Canadian powerhouse, as well as fellow countrymen/noise slingers KEN Mode covering a pair of Shallow songs while stateside the Bay Area’s Kowloon Walled City does their own take on a Shallow song as well. Plus, you get some fabulous artwork courtesy of Great Sabatini’s Sean Arsenian as well! Whether you know anything at all about Shallow, North Dakota, or any of the bands on this split, if you enjoy ungodly heavy sludge rock/metal do yourself a favor and check out this slab of molten riffs and punishment for a good cause. (Wordclock Records)
SOME GIFTS, “Not Born Enemies”
I’m going to go right ahead and say that Some Gifts probably won’t appeal to anyone under the age of 25. It’s music by dads who like really awesome stuff from the 90’s and as an elder music fan myself I’m OK with this. They are deft craftsmen at songwriting and their well of inspiration is derived from the likes of J. Robbins, Faraquet, and maybe even Far on the slower/big rock portion of songs here. Lyrically well-composed and treading through personal hardships, as well as some very on-the-nose socio-political gripes gathered over the last several years, this third full length from the band finds them doing what they do well. While much of the first half of this recording is more uptempo it’s the second half that tends to move slower and rely on big riffs which I think I enjoy a bit more, particularly on “Familiar Traps” (which, side note, my wife is convinced the lead guitar on this track is directly culled from music from the video game “The Last Of Us”). The cover screams ‘demo submission’ but the music should be right up the alley for fans of 90’s DC and alternative rock stuff, Deep Elm or Arctic Rodeo Records material, and finding that niche of time on the weekend after taking your kids out to the park but before getting them ready for dinner to jam with your pals in the garage. (self-released)
TERMINAL BLISS, “Brute Err/ata”
One of many bands growing from the Pg. 99 family tree, this one is wild, noisy punk-hardcore where not a single song hits the 2 minute mark, most of them actually don’t even break a single minute. Everything is a messy blast where vocals are run through a belt sander, drums blast by like an entire grocery store’s stock of shopping carts being dropped off a roof, and guitars shredding your face in a fit before being thrown down a staircase while the ‘record’ button is still on and keeping the results. The artwork is a beautiful, trippy, frenetic mess and I love that aspect of things (when you have a couple of the underground’s best artists/graphic designers working together results are top notch). If you get an LP the whole effort is too short to take up two sides so you get a badass etched B-side instead. 10 songs crammed into 11 minutes of headfuck chaos. (Relapse)
USA NAILS/ PETBRICK split 7”
Petbrick side is a minute and a half of useless atmospheric noise followed by 30 seconds of digital grind trash. USA Nails side is the song, “My Body”, which sounds more akin to stuff on their first record, rather than where they are now on their fifth. It’s a bit odd for them as it contains some more melodic elements they don’t tend to go for these days, but retains their snappy and energetic punk chaos they are well known for. I can get down with it, but I do prefer their more developed post-punk/noisy rock thing they got going on these days. (God Unknown)
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