Flattbush "Smash the Octopus!" CD
[Kool Arrow]
This band's alleged story is as follows: "According to legend, in the early 1960's in the Philippines a group of angry, well-informed students formed a rock band and named it Flattbush. Among other socially concious topics, their lyrics often criticized the US supported Marcos dictatorship. Of course, this period of time was not an unusual period for folk music or popular protests. But this was still the Phillipines, and unlike their American counterparts of that time who gained popularity, recording contracts, and sellout shows, the members of Flattbush were forcibly silenced and left in ditches. It wouldn't be until 25 years later that the name of the group would be resurrected with new members." Put forth are 13 tracks of fast, quirky, abrasive grindcore mixed with post-hardcore/"noise rock". Expect tons of blasting drums, caustic guitar textures, plodding bass grooves, and cackled vocal attacks. At times the vocals are spoken, growled, or sung, but the general delivery is an insane fast paced telp - often with a hint of distortion. "Kontra'tado!" has both the most chaotic and the most melodic elements all rolled into one, while "Foxhole" is one of the most structured and tangible tracks herein, while others like "PIGS" are almost entirely noise laden. Melodic aspects are practically nonexistent, but there's plenty of all over the place riffing and noise, as well as a bit of slap bass too. The recording isn't bad for as over the top and borderline messy as some of the writing can be. The performances are tight, make no mistake, but a lot of the guitar and vocal parts are so loose that it can get wild. But the drums are rigid enough to stand out without feeling unnatural, the bass is perfectly defined (and the rhythm section playing rules), etc. The guitar tone is sort of grating on the high-end, so I'd like to hear the bass given more space, but overall it's not bad for what it is. The layout contains all of the lyrics, which are a mix of English and Tagalog, as well as numerous images dealing with Phillipino issues, which meets up with some of the lyrical content as well. Many of the songs deal with the injusticies of society and denounce capitalism and dictatorships, calling for the people to fight back. I wish translations had been included for all of non-English tracks, but that's not the case. Similar to the recording, it's not the best layout I've ever seen, but it gets the point across. Not bad. Not at all what I expected, but not bad. As far as the fast and crazy stuff goes, this is pretty inventive in its own right, even if it's not the most original thing in the world. (6/10)
Running time - 27:45, Tracks: 13
[Notable tracks: Question Authority, Foxhole, Napalm, LIC Total War (Low Intensity Conflict)]
Kool Arrow Records - http://www.koolarrow.com

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