Minsk “Out of a Center Which is Neither Dead Nor Alive” CD

This one's really hitting the spot today 'cause I'm in a total fog of feeling like shit. Sure to draw Neurosis comparisons abound due to their display of lengthy compositions that sway from hefty shouting over crushing midpaced rhythms with plenty of electronic accent textures and pummeling percussive work to moody atmospheres of bleak clean guitars and singing, the Illinois quartet Minsk has been around for a little over three years now, and their At a Loss Recordings debut, "Out of a Center Which is Neither Dead Nor Alive", unloads six tracks in over an hour. Even the shortest tune tops eight minutes, while most average around 11, and there's actually some fairly caustic discordance in there on occasion as well. I'd definitely point to a few moments reminiscent of a slightly rawer Mindrot, too.

I do find myself wishing that the recording achieved a little more clarity, as despite the forceful intrigue of the sheer feeling of the material, it does tend to land on the cluttered side of things in terms of the instrumentation blurring together in the core of the mix. They've got a fuckin' badass drum sound though, and some of the slower, sparser passages sound killer—so this thing really only needs minimal tweaking. Overall they're working with a very natural sense of warmth, which I'm a major supporter of, and the songwriting exhibits a great balance of gritty crunch and well harnessed melodic tinges, so I'm sold on the big picture. Check this shit out:

Minsk "Narcotics and Dissecting Knives"

Apparently there are many out there who agree with me, as this one's out of stock at several of my usual stops. But it's still out and about all around, and At a Loss' main distributor is as good a source as any, so take the plunge if you like what you hear...

@ Stickfigure Distribution