At first glance, Lexicon’s new EP Devoid of Light may seem like another among the endless number of records and releases that emerge from the punk underground, make a lot of noise (literally, and briefly) and then disappear, without much of a trace. The cover art — in black-and-white pen, of course — features yet another leather-and-boot-clad punk in yet another hopeless situation, replete with looming skulls, skittering rats and overturned trashcans. Songs are titled “Bleak Future,” “Electric Shock” and “Death Rattle.” The music? Another hybrid of already-hybridized forms, crusty d-beat and noise punk. So, what’s new? Crucially: this record, this sound and these songs. Counter to what the band’s name suggests, Lexicon will leave you speechless. If you like your punk crusty and your hardcore shot through with raw, brittle fuzz, good luck finding a better record among this year’s batch.
The songs buzz and spark with an intentionally excessive volatility. All the hiss in the no-fi production amps up the electricity considerably, but the out-of-control guitar tone and the shattering, clattering cymbal sounds do their own sort of DIY surgery on your bleeding earholes. The opening 15 seconds of “Bleak Future” strike, strike again and then deliberately increase the pace — another old chestnut of a punk routine (“No More,” anyone?) that should be exhausted. But Lexicon’s delivery will have you reflexively gritting your teeth. When you drop the needle on “Shoot to Kill,” the bass reveals itself as a serious force, imbuing the song with a Killing Joke vibe that proceeds to wrestle the fuzzy, buzzy git for control over the tune. Things only get nastier from there.
The Seattle-based musicians (Will on guitar, Devin on bass, Stevie on skins) play like men possessed — hard to say if it’s Satanic or political spirit at work, but the performance is memorably passionate. KJ is the vocalist, and her harsh, hoarse shouts propel the enterprise, shredding her vocal cords and shedding several layers of mucus membrane. Her cadences on “Idle Hands” are particularly crucial. KJ’s voice is too distorted to allow many of the words to register, so the rhythmic patterns of her vocals become another of the gnarly instruments shaping Lexicon’s feral songs. This reviewer prefers when you can hear the words and tune into the message. But as is often the case in heavy music this raw, it’s likely that the affect is the message. The more blistered, abraded and sore, the better. Songs like “Shoot to Kill” and “Drying Out” leave you feeling skinned and laid open to the foul atmosphere of our post-industrial hellscape. Yikes, that smarts.
