In case you’ve been living under a very large and heavy rock, Mastodon are back with their fifth full-length, The Hunter, a non-concept, non-epic album that’s as straightforward and concise as anything they’ve ever done. Of course, this is Mastodon we’re talking about, so as straightforward and concise as The Hunter might be, it’s still a strong arm of flailing beats, mind-bending time signatures, schizophrenic riffing, and eerie vocal harmonies, all delivered in either a full-on mortal crush or an unwavering cosmic vapor lock. However, under the fur-lined cloak of freedom afforded a band of their stature, Mastodon appear to have made the conscious decision to forgo the brainy, extreme aspects of their abilities for a puffed chest, ‘rock-the-fuck-out’ approach. Songs like “Black Tongue,” “Curl of the Burl,” “All the Heavy Lifting,” and “Dry Bone Valley” find the Atlanta quartet choosing brute force over precision, trading in their clockmaker’s hands for those of a caveman, while songs like “Blasteroid,” “Stargasm,” and “Spectrelight” (featuring Scott Kelly of Neurosis) are the most vintage Mastodon songs of the bunch, an abundance of devastating wonder tailor-made to amaze. The album’s not without its departures, however, including mellower, dramatic cuts “The Hunter” and “The Sparrow,” as well as the weird, anthemic “Creature Lives,” which features drummer Brann Dailor’s vocal prowess. It would be hard to argue that Mastodon hasn’t been one of the most influential bands on heavy music the last 10 years or so, and if The Hunter demonstrates anything at all, it’s that in a sea swelling with admirable contemporaries, they can do something like buckle down and play laymen without giving up the charge.
Check out the video for “Curl of the Burl” from The Hunter!
The Coathangers Larceny & Old Lace
Suicide Squeeze Records
There is never anything very serious about The Coathangers’ business, which usually involves making one hell of a sarcastic ruckus by fusing no-wave fuss and riot-grrrl attitude, and coming up with song titles like “Don’t Touch My Shit,” “Shut the Fuck Up,” “Nestle in my Boobies,” “Gettin’ Mad and Pumpin’ Iron,” and “Arthritis Sux.” I mean, they’re not called The Coathangers because they like coathangers, ya dig? And having taken what I can only assume was a leap from pre-period girls in bobby socks singing into hair brushes to teenage vandals with pawnshop instruments without any kind of forethought to structuring their craft except having the drunkest fun possible, the Atlanta quartet set ears and hearts afire with their first two albums, 2007′s self-titled debut and 2009′s Scramble, both of which were gratuitously punk and gloriously noisy. But on their latest album, Larceny & Old Lace, The Coathangers’ business is sounding a bit more serious than usual, meaning that while their shrieky farce-ula is still prevalent, they do seem to have grown up a bit (and at the risk of having my hand bit, they’re looking more beautiful than ever, too). Sure, you still get that toaster-in-the-tub rush on songs like “Hurricane,” “Trailer Park Boneyard,” “Sicker,” and “Chicken: 30,” but now there’s also an equal amount of pop/beat-oriented moments courtesy of “Go Away,” “Call to Nothing,” “Jaybird,” and “My Baby.” Oh, and there’s a ballad, too. So, they might not be your same old Coathangers, but they’re still irritatingly awesome and they still have the capacity to be the life of the party.
Check out the video for “Hurricane” from Larceny & Old Lace!
So, are the Biters the biggest band in the world yet? I think we need to look into it. They have to be by now. Have to be. They’re circling the skies above Tokyo at this very moment in a private jet piloted by a chimp in aviator shades and a rhinestone vest, right? Well, while I wait for confirmation on this, I’m gonna try to wrap my head around another EP from Atlanta’s shock n’ awesome rock n’ roll show, because, truth be told, I’m still not over the first two yet. With album-of-the-year hardware still warm in their hands, the Biters refuse to take their cheetah-skinned shoes off of the accelerator for even a minute, intent on driving headlong into candy-land in the middle of the starry night instead of slowing down to enjoy the ride. But can you blame ‘em? Tuk and Co. are pumping out hits like a gumball machine with a broken dispenser and the resulting sugar high is beyond euphoric. Like the previous two EPs, All Chewed Up is a glam-pop junkie’s dream come true, but manages to separate itself slightly by offering a few extra songs (seven instead of the customary five) and adding Bolan (“Rock N Roll Loser”) and Poon (“[Oh Yeah] The Bitch Wants More”) to the roll call of influences that already includes Nielsen and Thunders. The Biters do it again, my friends. The question is, how many more times are they gonna do it before the year is out?
Mastodon
The Coathangers
Biters