Labels: 7 Degrees – Halo Of Flies – React With Protest
Review by: Alex Deller
With the second LP-length slice of vinyl that they’ve managed to keep all to themselves these Michigan noiseniks seem to have upped the ante, keeping the explosive qualities of their debut intact but reining things in so they’re somewhat cleaner and crisper around the edges. Tempos are predominantly set to ‘shred face’ and Madison’s vocals are a wire-rubbed bawl, but for all that the band are unafraid to slow things down a tad (see the repeated gut-punch of ‘Widowmaker’ for proof), inject proceedings with moments of wan prettiness (‘Infinity Chasm’) or fleck their grind with bile-spurting melodies. Despite repeated listens I’m still not sure whether the Neil Young cover isn’t a step too far, but that blip aside it’d be churlish not to recommend ‘Moksha’ to folks who daydream of collisions between Converge, Transient, Scrotum Grinder and Circle Takes The Square while repeatedly stabbing themselves in the leg with a screwdriver.