You would hope this CD would foreshadow something special, but it really doesn’t do the job at all.
The Harpoons: Double Gnarly/Triple Suicide
If you are expecting anything nautical from this but of noiseniks you are looking in the wrong place. This is yet more “face-melting” metal that evokes the feeling of leading extreme metal bands. It's fast furious and vicious or, at least from what you can tell from the CD, they are like that live. On record however it does not really sound like anything that special or an album which will do anything for the genre.
As is to be expected with the genre the tracks don’t exactly linger which is quite good all round. Love the track "The Midget and the Duchess" not least for the title but it shows a certain level of humour flows through the band. And the final track “The Difficulty in Listening to the Elderly” continues this type of not totally serious mentality. The band from Chicago and seem to embody all the aggression you would expect from the windy city. Songs filled with cold brutal precision abound on here.
If you are into your extreme metal and want to hear the tracks before you go see them at your local thrash pit then this might be just the release for you. It is what it is and makes no apologies for itself. There are times when that counts for a lot methinks.
We Insist: Oh! Things are So Corruptible
This is weird, oddly compelling music that certainly brings to mind Primus and other odd, but accessible, arty rockers. Unlike some of the more esoteric experimental art rockets this lot prefer to bring you in before completely befuddling you in the most wonderful of ways. They are French band, so don’t be shocked to hear an accordion pop in every so often.
Now while I say they are approachable that does mean you will necessarily like this stuff on the first spin. There is nothing off putting here that might cause you to put it aside when you are in the mood as is so common with some releases in this genre.
This is avant garde, but terribly fun as well. You would be hard-pressed not to feel a strong Gallic sensibility on here which adds an extra dimension to the quality of the release. This is very much a solid release of experimental oddities that, as I said above, are catchy and intriguing while retaining their odd integrity. Probably an either love or hate album, as is common with this type of release.
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