Not bad. "Stoner rock" with a dirty sort of hardcore/punk edge, due in part to generally short tracks that run less than three minutes, as well as a slightly faster than average tempo for this style. There are definitely some southern influenced riffs and chord progressions in here, and the thick texture of the distortion totally has that stoner rock vibe, but this is heavy as hell, and I like it a lot more than anything that drills the 70's influences into the ground (which these cats do not). "Complacence" slows it down a bit towards the tail end with some fucking pummeling slower rhythms and unique singing vocals, which brings in a doom influence to some degree, and it's something I think the band could really benefit from exploring further. "Quash" is much faster and more energetic, completely embodying the band's hardcore/punk angle to a perfect level, which is definitely another very promising approach. (Also notable are the darker melodies and sick vocals in the awesome closer "70 mg".) I really like the recording. Getting picky about it I think the vocals are slightly out front, and the rhythm section (notably the bass) could be given some more room, but it's really clear, and they should never touch that guitar tone because it's perfect for what they're doing. The layout's not bad. The outer packaging is all done in deep red and black with white text, and despite some childish illustrations of demons wielding swords and stuff, they really pull it off. Actually, it's really the content of the illustrations that's sort of goofy, the sketchy style of the drawings look great and pulls it off, so it's more of a twisted sense of humor showing through, and it ends up looking cool. Inside is a band photo and the lyrics in handwritten text. Most of the lyrics are pretty bleak, but I wouldn't call them generic, which is nice. "Life as you know it washed on by, So fast you couldn't grasp, Infected with breath soiled lung, Swaying the mind, This won't stop, Seething with contempt, I'm only dying." Not bad at all. Fans of this style should definitely look into this band, because it takes a decent amount of work for something like this to turn my head, and Rue definitely has my attention. There's room for improvement, but they've got my attention.
[Shifty]
Running time - 29:50, Tracks: 9
[Notable tracks: Complacence, Quash, 70 mg]
Shifty Records - http://www.shiftyrecords.com
