Vacant Lights - Funeral Noise Exits

Vacant Lights play a tortured mix of sludge/noise/stoner

with a definite experimental vibe. This is a heavy trip

into Melvins/Christpunchers type of brainmelt riffs, coupled

with the unhinged rhythms of early Jesus Lizard or Big

Black. The songs create a dense, claustrophobic atmosphere

that sucks you into a frenzied world of fuzzed out psychosis.

The band have created their own unique take on this genre.

Fuzzed guitars, distorted bass and head-pounding drums

lay the foundations for cleanish/harsher vocals

to sit on top of the mix but never overpowering the frenetic

guitar noise. Song passages ebb and flow, taking you

from slow motion swamp speed to jarring psychedelic freak

outs. Saxaphones, field recordings, spoken word all help to take

this to another level that The Swans and Lingua Ignota have only hinted at.

Milquetoast - Caterwaul

Breakneck guitar riffs are spewed out with pin-point precision

and power, giving the songs a frantic edge which threaten to

crash and burn into the stratosphere before blowing up - but -

due the the songwriting strengths of this band, this never

happens.

Instead the tracks whirl and spin, morphing from crazed, distorted

hymns of violence into solid tunes of noise rock pounding out slabs

of sonic disturbances. Constant motion within the song passages

leave you no time to catch your breath among the riffs, solos and

intricate interplay between guitar, drums and the yelped out

vocals.

This is great stuff that demands repeated listens.

Tigers On Opium – 503.420.6669. Vol 2

Like a rainbow shining through storm clouds to give you advance

warning of sunnier weather to come, Tigers On Opium dispel any

feelings of gloom with some psychedelic hard rock with an

authentic nod to 70's kraut sounds mixed with some spoken word samples

that only add to the doomy feel of things.

The songs are tight compositions with some longer passages

that weave in and out of ideas, musical motifs and themes with

skilled playing and passion. Jumping the divide between 70's classic rock

and the more contemporary sounds of today - this album is a slice of psych

rocking that recalls yesteryear but is firmly entrenched in the now.

Released on Forbidden Place Records