Labels: Adelante Discos – Erste Theke Tontrager – Not Normal
Review by: Alex Deller
This one’s been playing over and over, and every time I spin it I think the next go around will be the time that makes me love it. Hasn’t happened yet after however many months, though, so I guess I should cut my losses and consider it a likeable rather than lovable record. Anyway. What Sin Motivo play is some caustic, errant, tightly-wound hardcore a la No Trend, Flipper and Numbskull. You know the type: the Slow Song on any given 80s hc LP, stretched out and made into a thing unto itself. Sure, there are occasional blasts of rangy tooth n’ claw speed, but for the most part the band test your mettle with whirlpool bass patterns, scratchy guitar noise and blank-eyed, head-to-wall repetition. Musically I dig it, though there’s a sense that something is maybe being held back. I think that the point where they truly come up short is the vocals, which come as a background-level trumpeting rather than the grab-you-by-the-lapels-and-shake horrorshow you might secretly yearn for. It’s ok, though … good enough to keep hold of and occasionally return to if not a one to set the world on fire.