Labels: self released
Review by: Andy Malcolm
If you like all your records to be nice and the same size, then you won’t want to buy this 7″ from the Nederlands very own Barnhouse Effect, because it comes in outsized packaging. Other than a demo, this is the bands first release and it is an absolute detonation of mentalist chaotic screamo. Screaming the barn down, they is! Luckily for you, they are playing non-trendy screamo, i.e. they have a vague thread of a melody that you can trace back to the mid 90’s emo sound, especially the dark twinkle intro on one of the tracks. More evidence: they don’t have any metal bits, and they probably don’t have spock haircuts. God I hope not. How on earth is the spock thing still going on? I mused this same subject to a friend not so long ago, and she said she was well glad that it was still going because all the spock boys look cute. Well, at least I now I know where I am going wrong.
So yeah. Barnhouse positively explode on this effort. Sonically I would suggest it was like a more mid 90’s version of their compatriots, Shikari, possessing so much of the same brand of energy and fire as that band. They work in much more of a melodic groove though that really enables me to get the spazz dance on and flap my arms about like a flightless bird. Emu! Fucking rocks. Go see them when they tour the UK.