10 tracks of droning, rhythmic rock with tangible elements of everything from post-hardcore to some of the Amphetamine Reptile stuff going on. Think prominent, forceful basslines, mildly sung vocals that aren't quite spoken but aren't exactly singing or shouting, straightforward percussion, and guitars that sway from feedback and noisy textures to basic chord progressions or thicker, sludgier grooves. It's never particularly heavy or anything, but they do changeup the dynamics a lot from softer, more sparse passages and louder/fuller moments. "Mousemeat" is darker and more melodic, bringing in some layers of slightly dirty clean guitars panned against a heavily textured distortion, and the slightly slower and more spacious "Dutch Uncle" takes a similar route, contrasted by some more angular riffs and more of a sinister sort of tone. The acoustic guitars that seep in towards the end of "Bitch Move" are fucking awesome, too. "The Good Times" runs just over eight minutes and almost has a hypnotic sort of quality with some of the effects on guitars and the consistency of the tempo and everything. I like the fact that the loose, noisy elements are generally reserved for leads, and even then such aspects are very tactfully handled and don't become overly irritating or bothersome at all. After the first few songs pretty much every track runs more than six or seven minutes, and while they tend to get away with it individually, it beefs up the total running time of the record too much, thus making some of the weaker songs really feel unnecessary. The recording's pretty good. I immediately fell in love with the bass tone, which is just phenomenal, though I was slightly bothered by the dryness of some of the guitars and vocals at first, but after a few minutes my ears settled in and I think it all sounds good. The percussion is natural and dense, the vocals fall back in with the instruments, the guitars are clear, etc. The disc comes in a really unique digipack colored with shades of blue and yellow with a few photos on the outside and a pop-up book illustration deal set up in the center spread. I can definitely say I've never seen anything like that in a CD package before! The lyrics aren't included but they basically seem to be random stories being told through lyrics, it's really strange. I like this a lot more than I had expected to. Trim off a few songs and you could have a stronger listen, but either way, something about it has a really unique feel - the music, the lyrics, everything... it's interesting. Definitely worth checking out.
[Traktor7]
Running time - 56:59, Tracks: 10
[Notable tracks: Mousemeat, Dutch Uncle, The Good Times]
Traktor7 Records - http://www.traktor7.com
