Arguably the world's finest current noise rock band, Baltimore's own Knub unloaded their debut full-length a few weeks back. The seven-song effort continues to deliver their patented brand of hefty, churning rhythms accented by scraping, dissonant textures. Elements of that foundation still bring classic Helmet to mind on occasion, though Knub actually tends to paint with a wider palette that ventures into surprisingly melodic territory from time to time ("Broken Eyes," for one). Plus, their approach is additionally individualized by the inimitable vocals of frontman Dave Ort, whose prior work with Onespot (Fringehead) I've also raved about in the past.
Closer "Wet Lung" just might be the highlight for me. Coincidentally the album's longest cut (topping five minutes), I suppose that provides plenty of time for the composition to meander through all that Knub has to offer, from the centrality of the rhythm section to the broad spread of different guitar textures, and a chorus that one could even deem "catchy."
As tends to be the case these days, physical copies of Crub are vinyl-only and limited to just 100 on blue "crub blood" or 150 on gold and black "crub smash"—a cooperative release between three more-than-excellent sources in Expert Work Records, The Ghost is Clear Records, and Hex Records. If you insist on streaming, find it on Spotify or Apple Music or something.
