In this continuation of the riveting Quarantine series: mostly new, 2020 releases.
Black Curse, Endless Wound LP (Sepulchral Voice)
There’s a lot of repetition in metal band name imagery, but Black Curse might be one of the laziest monikers in recent memory. No matter: the band’s debut LP Endless Wound is an absolute crusher, a swirling mass of death metal bile accented by riffs that violently snap your head back and forth for you. The guitar player handles bass duties for Primitive Man, and there are definitely some similarities between the two groups, not least of which being filthy tone and gargantuan riffs (see the plodding “Lifeless Sanctum”). But Black Curse can thrash around with the ferocity of Salvation-era Funeral Mist, and hit a mid-tempo groove like peak Beherit, as on closer “Finality I Behold.” Those are some pretty big names to drop, but Black Curse more than deliver - Endless Curse feels methodical without sacrificing manic intensity. Real deal shit right here. My favorite metal album of the year so far. Ajna Offensive had some copies of the LP in stock for a split second, and I imagine they’ll get more eventually; alternatively, one can reserve a copy from Dark Descent now.
Femme, Ruderal Exotique LP (Bruit Direct Disques)
Femme’s Chroma from the tail-end of 2017 took over my turntable for a good many months in early 2018. The French duo’s short vignettes of noise rubbing up against each other in confined spaces and somehow, despite all the jarring changes in volume, comes together for a rather cathartic listen. Ruderal Exotique follows the same formula, though this time around they’re coming at you at 45 rpm. I’m not sure if Femme’s changed things up or I’m just accustomed to power drills and blaring, bassy synths now, but all the sounds within Ruderal Exotique hit some pleasure center in my brain. Even though they’re still arriving in jagged shards, cutting into each other abruptly or dropping out into silence on a whim, when the album’s on it’s like it’s plastering drywall all over this miserable time and giving me permission to do, think or say nothing. It’d be fair to say that most of us need that regularly, but perhaps now more than ever. Gorgeous and abrasive, these 15 wordless tracks have been a balm recently, but Ruderal Exotique is also one of the most captivating listens of the year. Surrender yourself and cop yet another winner from Bruit Direct Disques, who have kindly opened up a USA e-shop run by The Business Anacortes.
Primo!, Sogni LP (Upset the Rhythm/Anti-Fade)
The Melbourne four-piece Primo! captured my heart in 2016 with the release of Primo Cassetto, a compact release bristling with tension and full of wry observations and wiry guitar lines. The follow-up LP, Amici, was as svelte and dry but twice as breezy; the playing was peppier and the vocals were softened and harmonious. I liked Amici fine, but little was imprinted on my memory after several listens, except the songs that had already appeared on Primo Cassetto. The band’s latest LP, Sogni, presses the best parts of the earlier two releases together into the grooves. Amici lacked the slower tempos of certain tracks on the debut, and Sogni brings them back with great success: “Comedy Show” is a particular standout, musically and lyrically reminiscent of latter-day Terminals, and closer “Reverie” is a drumless and haunting send-off. “Machine” and “Love Days” are the band at their most confident, the sound fuller than ever without dumbing down the lyrics or losing the scrappiness that makes this band so goddamn charming. Part of the fuller sound is thanks to the flourishes of Al Monty on various instruments throughout the album, but the band’s songwriting overall is stronger, looser - several tracks on the B-side even include extended outros (”1000 Words,” “The Present”), the band so stuffed to the gills with lean guitar lines that they had to make some room for more. Overall Sogni is the best Primo! album to date, placing the band firmly in the lineage of bands like Animals + Men and Look Blue Go Purple, responsibly self-aware post-punk sharp as nails and threatening to dance. Perfect for spring. Stateside people should look to Forced Exposure for the LP - they’ve even got some of the limited orange vinyl from Upset the Rhythm coming in.
DJ Screw, Bigtyme Volume II All Screwed Up 2xLP (Sinecure Press)
Yes: DJ Screw remains a larger-than-life presence that, along with Pimp C, has transformed how I, and many others, approach and listen to rap - but mostly I just wanted to highlight how sublime the versions of UGK’s “Tell Me Something Good,” and especially Point Blank’s “After I Die,” are on here. (The very pricey Houston Rap deluxe bundle including this 2xLP is still available.)
Anhedonist / Spectral Voice, split 7″ (Dark Descent/Parasitic)
Highly anticipated split between two death-doom titans: the dearly departed Anhedonist, and Spectral Voice, the modern scene’s torchbearer. Anhedonist’s “Abject Darkness” is an unreleased track recorded sometime during their tenure. It’s good, full of the killer “augh!” moments I prize, but it seems to tread water and repeat itself. You can kinda see why such a meticulous band left this one on the cutting room floor. On the flip, Spectral Voice turn in a devastating seven minutes on “Ineffable Winds,” eschewing any ornate arrangements and instead loading up on 10-ton riffs. I was disappointed with this record at first, mostly because the Anhedonist side left me a bit cold, but it’s encouraging to have the newer material by Spectral Voice be the better half. A few copies of this 7″ are still available from Parasitic Records.
G2G, s/t 7″ (self-released)
Snarling, sarcastic garage punk from this Sydney trio (plus drum machine), so stern and pockmarked that it’s off-putting at first blush. The opening track “Animated Satisfaction” is dripping with contempt, needling guitar lines combining in nauseating fashion, and it’s one of my favorite songs of the year. Can you deny a line like “I’m itchy and particular with my time”? You cannot. The band utilizes group vocals but they’re uneven, the guitars reek of grunge, and the lyrics are biting and delivered in a taunting manner. The shambling "You Don’t Say Shit Right” gives a lesson on how to say “Nietzsche” properly, the masked melancholy resulting in the best garage rock ballad I’ve heard since the Whines’ “It’s Raining.” “Wrong Way Corrigan” is the only track I’m not super keen on, but the chorus of “I rode it like a dump truck/all the way to your house” is pretty catchy. Overall, a fantastic debut. Limited to 166 hand-numbered copies: unleash the beast.
M. Quake, Fall In Love With Yourself 7″ (Purely Physical)
Martina Quake put this 7″ out on Valentine’s Day this year, and it’s a pretty dope sentiment to drop on that holiday. I blindly threw this in an order from Low Company on the strength of the title alone, and I haven’t been disappointed. The A-side features snippets from an interview with Eartha Kitt, while gauzy, swirling synths play underneath her arguments against self-compromise in relationships. It’s a fine appetizer for the B-side “Dub,” those same woozy synth samples brought to the fore and getting drunk on themselves, the track transformed from instructive to indulgent, decadent. The beat never locks, both sides remaining off-kilter but lush. A mysterious and powerful little record, one I keep returning to as a sort of palette cleanser, or night cap. The 7″ is readily available in Europe from Boomkat and various other retailers; not sure if ordering from Forced Exposure will net you a copy, though.
The Native Cats, Two Creation Myths 7″ (Rough Skies)
It’s true that the Native Cats are my favorite modern band, so my bias is going to be evident, but their last two 7″ records on Rough Skies, Spiro Scratch and now Two Creation Myths, have been nothing short of brilliant. “Run With the Roses” is the best Native Cats song to date, and will almost definitely stand as the best song of the year. Chloe Escott is in fighting form, sneering and powerful, then vulnerable, then resplendent. The track is startling in its starkness, buoyed by Julian Teakle’s bass and peppered with some of Escott’s electronics, staring you down and refusing to flinch. Oof, what a dominating, masterful track; gives me chills every time. The flip is “Sanremo,” a lush ballad that the Native Cats excel at creating, akin to “C of O” and “Cowboy Builder” but bolstered by Escott’s self-assured vocal performance, theatrical without a whiff of the maudlin. Lulu’s recently reviewed the record, and I think they said it best:
“Few bands releases feel quite as consistently considered as those of The Native Cats. Never a second wasted, nor element unslaved over, their voice is one of the most unique, engaging, and resolute of the contemporary Australian underground.”
You’re gonna need Two Creation Myths. It’s limited to 300 copies - buy it, along with everything else available, from Rough Skies.
