Filed under: Reviews
Cross Laws-Behind the Curve (Sorry State Records, 1102 N. Greensboro St. Carrboro, NC 27510) From their inception, the onslaught wielded by North Carolina’s Cross Laws was likened by some to that of Articles of Faith. While elements of their early Eighties-style racket do merit some comparison to the AOF assault, the seething chaos of their outbursts belie surlier influences- the sort of middle American hatred surge typified by N.O.T.A. or the convulsive blur of Koro, for instance.
“Behind The Curve”, the debut 7″ from Cross Laws, oozes suburban discontent and vitriol from every pore with the relentless zeal and raw delivery that are hallmarks of the genre. Its unadorned volleys are unleashed in four chord spasms, replete with hammering rhythms, blazing leads, and vocal ferment that builds to a rabid snarl. The persistent pummeling is complemented by occasional melodic leanings, reflecting guitarist Daniel Lupton’s love of the OC hardcore-esque razor barbed hook. Songs like the opening “Buried Alive” and the mid-paced dirge “Don’t Call This Life” reflect this fusion of dissonant ripping and harmonic proclivity.
In less capable hands, this fusion of infectious upheaval might have yielded forgettable results, but Cross Laws pull it off in spades. Far from the retro-core posturing of similar efforts, “Behind The Curve” transcends mere tributary rehash with a ferocity all its own. -Mike Ramek
Filed under: Reviews
Dry Rot-Subordinate (Painkiller Records 516 Green Street #1B Cambridge, MA 02139) With each subsequent release proving more befuddling than the one preceding it, Southern Californian harbingers of apocalyptic Christian gutter squall, Dry Rot, wallow in deepening cesspools of psychosis and religious fervor.
”Subordinate”, their third outing, chronicles an account of modern day slavery amidst idyllic suburban sprawl. Its terse hymnals of suffering, servitude, death and redemption provide a rough narrative, evoking vivid snapshots of human degradation through bleak ruminations from victim and victimizer alike.
Abrasive and disorienting, this sonic maelstrom is a distillation of the Void-esque meandering of Dry Rot’s “Permission” 7″ and the improv-oriented ruminations of their “This Is A Forest” 7″ . In comparison to that latter record, “Subordinate” might be seen as a more conventional effort, with the sprawl of past work reigned in for a more forceful, if less abstract, assault. Then again, few within the hardcore/punk community will find this procession of riff lacerations, tempo spasms, and inhuman vocal retching especially conventional to begin with. The aesthetic presentation, which includes a full color painting and sixteen page illustrated booklet, adds harrowing visual complement to the aural bludgeoning.
Ever on the brink of implosion, Dry Rot unleash another eruption of fetid hardcore/punk bile that is as unsettling as it is compelling. Their best yet.-Mike Ramek
