|
Release Date: 2007 Record Label: Independent Track list:
|
The Afternoon Gentlemen / Warboys - Split CD-r
|
The Afternoon Gentlemen: |
Warboys: |
Writin' an objective review can often be tricky, especially when reviewin' (un)musical projects of friends, so I'll do my very best to refrain from usin' this critique to orally stimulate Warboys's balls to the skies, or to fashion from it a sycophantic phallus with which to bum The Afternoon Gentlemen, but I'll probably be unsuccessful. Both bands are key exponents of the current North Leeds Powerviolence revivial, playin' strident old skool Grind with prominent Hardcore Punk elements, so you can expect lots o' hoarse vokill howl ‘n' yammer, simplistic buzzsaw riffery and plenty of blasts for everyone.
The Afternoon Gentlemen lean slightly more towards the Grind side o' the Power Violence coin, playin' smelly ol' riffs nicked from skips or retrieved from the gutter, rollin' along at a jolly pace whilst the lead vagrant vomits many abrasive gutturals ‘n' high pitched shrieks into his pretend mic what he made out o' a can o' Spesh. ‘Cos they swap comfortably from blastulated bustle to heads down chuggedy jaggment via excessive rowdiness, their undemandin' song-structures ensure a fun listen. Some songs whiz past in less than half a minute, whilst the rest are afforded a bit more breathin' space, which helps accentuate their catchiness and results in a more worthwhile ‘n' memorable work. Indeed, with homelessness and alcoholism as their principal themes, this band o' vagabonds is here for purely your amusement, providin' you with a good titter whilst you ‘ave a wander through the park, watchin' them lollin' about on benches and communicating with bemused walkers by means of inarticulate, sweary banter or copious phlegm expectoration!
Having listened to lots of silly yet unsettlin' music during visits to the domicile of The Afternoon Gentlemen rhythm section whilst enjoying intoxicating liquors, fragrant psychoactive substances and oxtail stew with members of both contributing bands featured herein therewith, I'm aware of their strong fondness for highly raucous music, so makin' these comparisons ought to be an absolute doddle! Their keen interest in fusty ol' Proto-Grind and Power Violence is abundantly palpable, with influences of Drop Dead, Spazz, Despise You and No Comment, as well as more recent grindin' volatility like Magrudergrind and Lycanthropy scrawled all over their artistic expressions; so it's up to the vokill accompaniment to messily regorge the pleasantly contrastin' facet all down their already heavily soiled jackets. Highly-strung porcine shrieks and rouge-throated roars backed up by some hideous bawls bring a kind o' colourful Czechgrind edge to the material, soundin' akin to the multifarious mouth-work of Jig Ai, pre-Pigs are Back Pigsty and maybe Mincing Fury too.
With this fun wee collection o' tracks, these gentlemen of the road ought to entertain Grind ‘n' Power Violence fans alike. Now they just need to dab the methylated mucus ‘n' vomit out o' their beards.
Whilst their performance is equally as pugnacious, the work o' Warboys displays their pursuit of a more puristic Power Violence sound, piling straightforward six-string filth and highly robust rhythms into structures of ample catchiness. Although undoubtedly nippy, the speed of delivery doesn't overindulge to the point of smotherin' the tunes in blurred-up ambiguity, while the vokills add another layer o' stockiness to the material by means of severely gruff ‘n' wobbly exhalations, accompanied by some very shouty-arsed, cherry-faced bellows and exasperated yelps. Like the Gents, their style disregards any kind o' fiddly or gimmicky shite like overambitious structural complexity, directionless fret-twattery, braggadocious blast or novelty brie, the band preferin' instead to stomp along in a down-to-earth manner, with an ale ‘n' crisps attitude, and a chips ‘n' gravy edge. The band are not here to perplex or astound you, they just plug in and chafe your yer face off. ‘Cos they hurtle past with belligerent abandon, their tunes are over ‘n' done with in less than a minute, except for the closing, sludgier number, which grotesquely lurches back and forth from truculent high-speed riffular crushery and in and out o' boggy fuzz-mud, afore tyin' itself up in screechy feedback.
To the tatty tymphanic membranes of this reviewer, it'd appear that the Warboys take a fair few cues from the Slap-a-Ham stable; so think Crossed Out, Infest, Capitalist Casualties, Lack of Interest et al and you'll have a good idea o' their intentions, but methinks they've perhaps splashed a few small globs o' something similar to Benumb about the place in order to help renovate this weathered audio husk.
With regard to production values, the coarse nature of both these recordings is highly apt for their style and content, lending itself well to the hectic atmosphere. Fuzz-clad guitar, basement bass blur, clattery drum cacophony and lopsided vokill levels are all reassuringly present ‘n' correct.
I've often heard the buzz-phrase ‘no-messing about style' bandied about whilst watchin' performances by bands within the Leeds scene, and such a phrase is an ideal nomenclature for this kind o' stuff. Pub-Power Violence!
December 7th, 2007
    
|
