Labels: Nefarious Industries
Review by: Alex Deller
Praising this record could possibly lead to me being electronically tarred and feathered in the thornier circles of CZ hell, but, hey, what the heck: I reckon it’s a good ‘un. Even while I’m writing these things down, though, I must admit they don’t appear at all promising. Why? Because the vocals tend towards overwrought (including some nutsack-clutchingly high oooohhhhs); the nimble, jazzy guitar patterns hint at that twiddly Algermo shit Andy hates so much and there’s a proggy vibe to proceedings that fans of A Perfect Circle could probably dig. The horror, right? And, yet, there’s something that’s brought me back to this LP time and again. While things get somewhat more intense towards the end (occasional screams, noisier crashes and the ripping guitar solo that begins the process whereby ‘People Don’t Forget’ tips over the edge into greatness) it’s actually the relative mellowness that somehow wins me over. It’s smart, dextrous and seems deadly earnest in its over-emoting, ‘A Child Of Divorce’ ultimately coming across like some weird musical hodgepodge that references Faraquet, Toiling Midgets, Converge, Sense Field and a decidedly less crushing Bloodiest. While I’d be surprised if there are many fans of all five of those bands knocking about, if at least three tick any kind of boxes for you then this might just be worth you checking out. Otherwise, of course, you can just get to the back of the queue when it comes to slinging shit at me as I’m publically pilloried like the CZ’s village idiot. Go for it.