noise rock
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Oh man, I've been lazy in the past few days. I only published a handful of reviews and it's been a long time since I've written a decent story for A Small Neat Journal. I'm also pretty tired, almost constantly even. So perhaps there is something wrong, I don't know. What I do know is that there is something wrong with the guys that made this album. This is some insane piece of work, which can only be made by madmen, or geniuses.
Baklavaa are a noisy four piece from Baltimore, Us. Formed in 2009, they released two ep's and played a number of live shows. Now, it seems that they are ready to break through in the weird and chaotic world of noise rock with this first full-length. On the other hand, what does 'breaking through in the noise rock scene' look like? This music will forever be the stuff for murky basement venues and peculiar bars.
'Dane On' is loaded with dissonant, chaotic and intense pieces of rock music, seemingly influenced by the likes of Sonic Youth, Slint and The Jesus Lizard. Most of the songs follow a similar path, being rock music with odd hooks and raw edges and with a harsh, raw sound. In that aspect, songs like 'Bad Filfth' and 'Mey' are some of the highlights. Yet, there is plenty of other weirdness to discover, like the twisted 'Ginger V' or the bizarre ambient-noise piece 'IV'.
'Ointment' is another brilliant piece of musical insanity, a slow, immersive avalanche of dissonant guitars. One moment, I was about to write 'the noise-rock version of Virgin Prunes' about this song, and perhaps that isn't even so far off if you ask me. 'Tampered With' seems to nudge more towards the post-hardcore scene, mainly as far as intensity and vocals are concerned. I'll leave the rest of the songs up to you.
For a noise rock album, this one is tremendously varied, but it might take a few listens before you realize that. As with many of their colleagues, Baklavaa do not care about radio friendliness, trends, genres or about how people feel about their music. All these guys want to do is put up an intense live shows and overwhelm everyone in attendance. With stuff like this, I'm sure they will succeed in that goal.
Let's hope they come to Incubate this September, this deserves a spot at the Cul De Sac bar where the toilets are right next to the stage and the dancefloor is a big hole in the ground. God, I love that bar...
Serge
Baklavaa are a noisy four piece from Baltimore, Us. Formed in 2009, they released two ep's and played a number of live shows. Now, it seems that they are ready to break through in the weird and chaotic world of noise rock with this first full-length. On the other hand, what does 'breaking through in the noise rock scene' look like? This music will forever be the stuff for murky basement venues and peculiar bars.
'Dane On' is loaded with dissonant, chaotic and intense pieces of rock music, seemingly influenced by the likes of Sonic Youth, Slint and The Jesus Lizard. Most of the songs follow a similar path, being rock music with odd hooks and raw edges and with a harsh, raw sound. In that aspect, songs like 'Bad Filfth' and 'Mey' are some of the highlights. Yet, there is plenty of other weirdness to discover, like the twisted 'Ginger V' or the bizarre ambient-noise piece 'IV'.
'Ointment' is another brilliant piece of musical insanity, a slow, immersive avalanche of dissonant guitars. One moment, I was about to write 'the noise-rock version of Virgin Prunes' about this song, and perhaps that isn't even so far off if you ask me. 'Tampered With' seems to nudge more towards the post-hardcore scene, mainly as far as intensity and vocals are concerned. I'll leave the rest of the songs up to you.
For a noise rock album, this one is tremendously varied, but it might take a few listens before you realize that. As with many of their colleagues, Baklavaa do not care about radio friendliness, trends, genres or about how people feel about their music. All these guys want to do is put up an intense live shows and overwhelm everyone in attendance. With stuff like this, I'm sure they will succeed in that goal.
Let's hope they come to Incubate this September, this deserves a spot at the Cul De Sac bar where the toilets are right next to the stage and the dancefloor is a big hole in the ground. God, I love that bar...
Serge