Review: Balboa “Manifeste Cannibale” CD

Like their last EP, this succinct disc throws down some abrasive and discordant material, but not without a well controlled end result. However, the songwriting's hitting me a little harder this time, coming across as a touch more focused and linear, especially in that it tends to make its point and plow right along. Amidst all of the intense screaming and rather caustic layers of guitars there's a definitely melodic thread tying everything together, while the rhythm section tends to remain solid and holds things in place well. Opener "Ostracon" is a quick two-minute punch of subtly twisted melodies and quick rhythmic shifts that has a great sense of urgency happening, while "Kyoto" contrasts some blaring chord progressions that use fast picking patterns with some droning guitar textures and a little bit of that indie rock kind of feel that was going on with their debut. The title track tops five minutes and is much longer than the other songs, opening with some darker clean runs and eventually rising and falling with feedback/noisy textures and samples to boot - a stripped down and less structured approach that actually dominates the bulk of the otherwise instrumental composition. This leads into closer "End to Major Combat", which starts off with even moodier clean guitars and builds in with a great dissonant chord progression that demonstrates solid repetition for the first several minutes of the track... at which time things break into their most frantic and aggressive swagger yet. The recording is pretty good, too. It's a little rough in spots and there are some areas where the smoothness breaks up, but I think that adds a little warmth to things and makes sense. I really like the cohesion of the mix, where the vocals rest right in with the music, nothing is overpowering, and everything comes across as a unit. The guitar tone is very nice in all its different forms, from dry clean tones to heavier distorted textures, and the thudding bass works well against the natural depth of the drums. The packaging is totally consistent with minimal designs and illustrative American flags with a few spatters of blood. Along with the lyrics is a rather scathing yet ultra sincere proclamation that everything in this day and age is political, citing the EP's overall message of utter disdain for the manner in which the United States, as an entity, carries itself. Obviously such sentiments continue in the lyrics with lines like, "We live in the fumes. We live in the shadows. You can't excavate the shards of this struggle or keep us from our peace." All in all this is a step up from their last effort. The title track is a little long and gets to be somewhat of a lull in the continuity by the time it draws to a close, but the sound quality is more efficient and the writing more pointed as well. There's still room for future progression, but I am indeed pleased with this one.