FRIDAY SEP 02, 2016
MTN ISL
You know what was missing from the ’90s resurgence that helped make up the 2012 and 2013 zeitgeist? How about some genuine hardcore tension-and-release? How about some jagged riffs and razor blade guitars that cut fast and deep? How about some raw, mathy shit that isn’t buried in atmospherics? Seriously, fuck that soft grunge bullshit. Give me dirty, visceral six-strong bloodletting and cathartic scream-sung vocals and you can keep your by-the-numbers fuzz rock retreads, mmmkay?
MTN ISL know what I’m talking about. The band’s debut EP, God Become Animal, is a seething mass of lacerating grooves and interlocking rhythms that’s equal parts wiry Midwestern math rock and classic Dischord era audio abuse. Open salvo “Super Place” is a ragged stomper paced by dissonant guitar chords and blistering stop-start dynamics, and things just continue to get better from there. “Hacer” is the most melodic and accessible of the EP’s six tracks, but it’s no less uncompromising or ferocious, moving nimbly from the spare and skeletal intro to the grinding verses, which somehow conspire to land you in the middle of a feral slough before it’s all said and done. Meanwhile, the one-two punch of “Dinner Planet” and “Snake Mansion” keeps the pincers clamped tight, locking the listener in a series of tightly-wound rhythms and nervy tempo shifts before the EP closer—appropriately titled “Gutshot”—levels the hammer down once more.
Recorded by Hawks and Wymyns Prysyn guitarist Andrew Wiggins, who himself is no stranger to swimming in these churning, blood and bile-stained waters, the down and dirty production eschews any frills for a leaner approach that puts greater emphasis on the band’s in-studio performance and the unity of the individual players. This is critical because, in truth, there is no single riff, drum fill or vocal scream that really stands out on God Become Animal. It’s the interaction between these disparate elements, the thoughtful interrelation between varying sounds, rhythms and textures, that drives these songs relentlessly forward.
You want to pretend the ’90s are back, fine. But let’s not leave out the ugly, discordant rage and dark unease that made so much of the music from that era great. MTN ISL haven’t forgotten, and they’re doing everything in their power to bring it back with a vengeance.
-Moe Castro @ Latest Disgrace
You know what was missing from the ’90s resurgence that helped make up the 2012 and 2013 zeitgeist? How about some genuine hardcore tension-and-release? How about some jagged riffs and razor blade guitars that cut fast and deep? How about some raw, mathy shit that isn’t buried in atmospherics? Seriously, fuck that soft grunge bullshit. Give me dirty, visceral six-strong bloodletting and cathartic scream-sung vocals and you can keep your by-the-numbers fuzz rock retreads, mmmkay?
MTN ISL know what I’m talking about. The band’s debut EP, God Become Animal, is a seething mass of lacerating grooves and interlocking rhythms that’s equal parts wiry Midwestern math rock and classic Dischord era audio abuse. Open salvo “Super Place” is a ragged stomper paced by dissonant guitar chords and blistering stop-start dynamics, and things just continue to get better from there. “Hacer” is the most melodic and accessible of the EP’s six tracks, but it’s no less uncompromising or ferocious, moving nimbly from the spare and skeletal intro to the grinding verses, which somehow conspire to land you in the middle of a feral slough before it’s all said and done. Meanwhile, the one-two punch of “Dinner Planet” and “Snake Mansion” keeps the pincers clamped tight, locking the listener in a series of tightly-wound rhythms and nervy tempo shifts before the EP closer—appropriately titled “Gutshot”—levels the hammer down once more.
Recorded by Hawks and Wymyns Prysyn guitarist Andrew Wiggins, who himself is no stranger to swimming in these churning, blood and bile-stained waters, the down and dirty production eschews any frills for a leaner approach that puts greater emphasis on the band’s in-studio performance and the unity of the individual players. This is critical because, in truth, there is no single riff, drum fill or vocal scream that really stands out on God Become Animal. It’s the interaction between these disparate elements, the thoughtful interrelation between varying sounds, rhythms and textures, that drives these songs relentlessly forward.
You want to pretend the ’90s are back, fine. But let’s not leave out the ugly, discordant rage and dark unease that made so much of the music from that era great. MTN ISL haven’t forgotten, and they’re doing everything in their power to bring it back with a vengeance.
-Moe Castro @ Latest Disgrace
The Grasshopper Lies Heavy
The amorphous musical giant known as The Grasshopper Lies Heavy defy typical categorization. The band has released eight records in six years, all exploring varying musical territories while maintaining a common thread: crushingly heavy wall-of-sound music; sometimes melodic, sometimes atonal, speaker shredding, enigmatic, and emotive.
The amorphous musical giant known as The Grasshopper Lies Heavy defy typical categorization. The band has released eight records in six years, all exploring varying musical territories while maintaining a common thread: crushingly heavy wall-of-sound music; sometimes melodic, sometimes atonal, speaker shredding, enigmatic, and emotive.