Neil Perry - A Satellite Crash - split - LP (2001)

Labels: Spiritfall
Review by: Andy Malcolm

I’ve had this record for an age, but only just dug it out for review much later. Does that mean it’s shite? Far from it. It actually means: “Andy, you buy far too many records for your own good”. Stuff that is good tends to get buried under a pile of other good stuff far too quickly round here. I am sure that there are higher forces at work. Hmm.

OK, lets start with Neil Perry. Errrrrrr”¦”¦ it’s finished. Well, not quite. But they filled a solid side of vinyl on 45rpm, and I swear it lasts like 5 minutes or something nuts like that. They kick off with one of the biggest Swing Kids ripoffs ever giving it all that pretentious-assed jazz drumming and weird rhythms, hey you fucking know which song I am talking about, so shut it. The Swing Kids probably ripped it off themselves from some crazy jazz guy, but whatever. Perry then blasts through 9 songs of violent emo violence.

Thrashthrashthrashthrash-crunchcrunchcrunch-falldownpart-yelpyelpaiiiiiiiiiiii-thrashthrashthrash. And it’s their best stuff since the debut 7″, which is still their most raging and vital contribution to da emo violence scene since their conception. If you’re sitting there saying to yourself: “œwhat the fuck is emo violence, you fuckin’ fuck?” then get the fuck out of here, you should have asked more politely. Song titles are actually as good as the music, and if you don’t want to buy this after hearing that there are songs called “œWhen My Favorite Sports Team Loses It Makes Me Want To Hit My Girlfriend” and “œIf This Is A Show About God I’m Going To Kill You Mauro” then I actually think that’s cool. I wouldn’t buy a record based on song titles either.

A Satellite Crash is some weird shit. Well, not like, crazy mad weird WOAH look at those alien dudes they have 5 ears type weird. More like I don’t know many bands that sound like this. They play a pacey, herky-jerky post-hardcore style, I’m figuring their closest relations musically are Shotmaker, but without stealing things. The songs are a mix up of style, control, damage and aggression, exploding from a tightly wound coil into chaos, like a slinky. Vocals are yelpy and strange, with occasional screamy parts. Stand out is “œLove Song for J Alfred Prucock” which is the most melodic on show here, with the vocals sounding rougher and a vague similarity to Braid in places. Not many places, but some.

Split 12″ rule. But will Spiritfall ever get their website finished?