Wednesday 15 April 2009

AGORAPHOBIC NOSEBLEED – AGORAPOCALYPSE (RELAPSE RECORDS)


AGORAPHOBIC NOSEBLEED – AGORAPOCALYPSE (RELAPSE RECORDS)

Agoraphobic Nosebleed is one of those bands that most people in the UK would have heard of through their tracks being played by John Peel. That guy was amazing for pushing such slabs out of noise through the stereo, turning Radio One into something rebellious and truly anti parent. There is absolutely nothing about the station these days that even lingers near being so edgy.

This is the band’s fourth studio album and again it rides the line of more metal than hardcore being grindcore. For years the band has been infamous for its song titles and we are not let down here as such poetry as “Dick To Mouth Resuscitation”, “White On White Crime” and “Druggernaut Jug Fuck” makes the grade.

Unsurprisingly it is pummeling and relentless stuff that really requires a fine tuned and trained ear to truly appreciate the nuances of such a gnarly game and genre as ultimately the music is the kind more likely to generate annoyance and anger out of the majority (your parents, your neighbours) and enjoyment for the minority.

On face value this is an obnoxious racket but within the content there are several nods to current affairs and issues discussing a real curiosity and concern for the state of the world. In “Timelord One (Loneliness Of A Long Distance Drug Runner)” comes a subtle nod to an English Tom Courtney kitchen sink drama movie classic from the sixties while “First National Stem Cell And Clone” addresses that old chestnut and national sticky wicket. Now if only you could understand the lyrics without having to consult the booklet or look online.

Born in 1994 and hailing from Springfield, Massachusetts there is a kind of Simpsons vibe to their work, one of dark humour delivered with a sledgehammer blow providing the perfect soundtrack to wandering around a supermarket to.

I was agoraphobic when I was younger (but that’s a story for another time).

My neighbours are currently banging on the wall, time to turn this shit up.

Thesaurus moment: busted.

Agoraphobic Nosebleed
Relapse Records

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