The first thing that hits you when you put this Cd on has to be the fullness and it’s depth. Expositions is an instant immersion in sound, the drums pounding new holes into your head and the guitar and bass syncopating heavy waves of discordant melodies. As a whole mix, it doesn’t sound perfect, but its pretty damn close.
The musical creativity and the sheer strength of the recording is the main carrier of interest for me throughout the whole album, while Ryhdians voice, sounding almost like the furnace runs roughshod, yet not unstructured through the whole proceedings. Indeed, its like the voice is another layer in the distortion, sometimes clearly audible, sometimes lost as it fades into the wash of urgency.
The lyrics themselves, upon several readings, allow some form of individual interpretation, but still, to me, remain more poetry than prose. There are some lyrics which I get, some which I guess, and others which are lost to me completely. I’m only being honest here, so don’t read into that statement too much please. You Crawl I understand, yet it still bites, which probably was the idea. Holding’s narrative speaks to me of beauty of companionship and trauma of loss and selfishness, while Meursualt Blues revels in that same solitude. For me, Noma stings like Jesus Camp stung, yet again I understand.
The music breathes, but only in the way that a dying creature does. Punctuated by panic, and the end is unescapable. So when the layers fall away, the echo’s of the chords / notes remain. But again to be honest, it’s like when I listen converge or botch, who demand a lot on my concentration, the music and my personality don’t easily match and its an almost an endurance game, as now on my third rotation my ears and I tire. I will defiantly be listening to this Cd again, just not this week.
Apart from not listening to this style of music much, my only gripe is that hearing Cursed a couple years ago, and now hearing this I can’t help but find the similarities. Hahaha, however, bear in mind who’s writing this review, and there could be a danger of the pot calling the kettle black. Perhaps a reviewer with more knowledge of the sub-genre could make more accurate observations.
The musicianship and the recording are almost unmatched in New Zealand’s underground scene, while the landscapes of the booklet counterbalance the music, giving visual space when there is no aural escape. The lyrics could have been easier to read, perhaps included some explanations, but again, I understand why they didn’t.
Look it’s a must have, it’s bloody good, buy the album, they’re going overseas soon and they deserve our support and any success they get. Oh and the outro: Overborn is first class.
I’m giving the whole thing a 3.5 / 5. But with that in mind, I can understand why some people would rate it much higher.
http://www.myspace.com/strangersandfuckers
Mon Mar 31, 2008