These Canadian nuts contain members of KEN Mode and Electro Quarterstaff and play some pretty twisted and aggressive material that sounds similar to some of the older Amphetamine Reptile releases, with a little more tangible rock, a dash of Black Flag, and in my opinion stronger songwriting abilities that take a few listens to sink in. The vocals are generally straight yelling under a light distortion filter, at times dropping back into spoken tones. I also really like the drumming because there are a lot of shifts in the dynamics, from hard hitting beats to lighter and flashier fills and patterns that really work with the song structures. The guitars tend to constantly layer different parts over one another to varying levels of either noisier textures or more involved runs (and since the guitars are hard panned you can really hear the way the riffs work together). I totally love the fucked up melodies midway through "Visitation Rights", as well as the more retrained introduction to "Deserving". And just check out the thick power chords of the more stripped down and going for the throat "Dryer" or the unexpectedly metallic riffing that kicks off "Sexy Beast". If you ask me the production's fine. It's really clear to the point where you can hear a few minor falters in the guitar playing (which I'd probably like to hear tightened up since the rhythm section is dead on), but it's also really thick and warm. Good stuff. The layout is all done in black, white, and red with minimal imagery and lots of bold text, so everything looks nice and clean/consistent. Lyrically the tracks stick to the ideas suggested by the album title, and I tend to find the approach fairly strong in its use of wit and whatnot: "If I can save myself from falling for you I promise I'll do the best I can do. I've been accused of sexy beastery. Not out of sarcasm, but irony. I'll stay home." I literally had no clue what to expect from this band, so I was almost expecting something more obviously technical or fucked up, but this is really good. It's definitely got a lot of focus on rhythm and structure, and I could see this band improving leagues beyond this as they get tighter and grow as musicians. Nice work.
[No List]
Running time - 25:49, Tracks: 7
[Notable tracks: Visitation Rights, Deserving, Sexy Beast]
Hide Your Daughters - http://www.hideyourdaughters.com
