Finnish thugs Throat have been toiling away for a good few years now, and though each of their releases has been a delight this one’s perhaps their finest outing to date. Over the course of this EP’s 25 minutes the band barf forth six songs, and while the grizzled references of yore (Unsane, Fudge Tunnel, any number of bug-eyed AmRep droolers…) are on display the band have branched out a touch, showcasing a broader dynamic range and a greater grasp of – gulp! – melody. Don’t get me wrong, the thing still clanks, thumps and thuds exactly as you’d want it to, but amid the abrasive scrapes and thumb-to-the-eye-socket meanness you have stuff like ‘Dog Wrestle Dog’ which throws some chunky 90s post-hardcore tunefulness into the mix. Like a lucky drunk reeling through rush hour traffic ‘Short Circuit’ walks a very fine line indeed, mixing the horrible with the hummable and ultimately emerging triumphant once the dangerous journey is done.
