Catch As Catch Can - Nude (La Pochette Surprise Records)

So many bands get bogged down in the idea of genres. Not just genres but increasingly sub-genres, something that is perhaps more prevalent in rock music than any other genre. It feels as if there is a holy order somewhere that states, “When two or three rock fans are gathered together, they should argue at great length as to exactly which sub-genre Led Zeppelin IV belongs in.”

But, for me, the best music is made not when music in general, and rock music in particular, adheres to a defined and delineated generic identity but when it wanders blissfully and belligerently all over the musical landscape. And that is why I love Nude, the latest EP from Kassel, Germany’s sonic experimenters, Catch As Catch Can.

Across four tracks, they lay out a sort of raw, 60’s garage rock sound, the kind of sonic Sturm und Drang, squalls and salvos that the likes of The MC5 or The Stooges gravitated towards. But as is always the way, what they thread through this musical maelstrom makes all the difference.

“Rock Oyster” bristles with punk restlessness, full of punchy riffs and fist-in-the-air vocals, “Born to Rock” wanders between foot-on-the-monitor rock and roll and more shoegazing walls of sound, and “Love Leather” blends riff and raucousness in an incendiary garage rock onslaught.

By the time the strange and anthemic “CACCKORNR” is done, you feel that not only have you been subjected to the history of rock music in no particular order, but you feel as if you will need to rest for at least a week to both heal and process the sonic pummelling you have just been subjected to.

Great music, challenging music, intriguing music, and not for the faint-hearted.

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