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THE KIWIS ARE ANGRY!!!
At least that’s what I’m getting from this gnarly bit of New Zealand hardcore (artcore?) that’s a bit like having four crazy bums jump you on an empty subway while screaming non sequiturs in your face. Far from the lush rolling hills you saw in those Lord of the Rings movies, it’s like a bunch of meth-heads attacking a junkyard with sledgehammers. There’s all the uncomfortable darkness of Black Flag‘s Damaged, but taken to a more extreme level via DC’s Void, the songs twisting and turning unpredictably as they race at breakneck speed, not even stopping between tracks, toward the inevitable explosive end. Think a much less pretentious Locust or maybe even early Black Dice. There’s a heavy power violence influence, a la Man Is the Bastard in their fast modes, in there as well. Three songs – the opening “Steven Tyler,” the instrumental “Kano and Rong Burns on the Nose Candy (Fuckin’ Hell),” and the closing “c. 2023” – slow things down to a Melvins-y grind for a meaty change of pace. It’s ugly and raw and unpleasant and a lot of fun to listen to and would probably make one hell of a live show.
Just one thing makes me scratch my head:
What’s there to be so angry about in New Zealand?
