Sunday 22 November 2015

Grizzlor - "Cycloptic" 7inch (Review)

By: Charlie Butler

Album Type: 7inch
Date Released: 28/10/2015
Label: Hex Records 

Each track is a barrage of filthy, lumbering Flipper-style basslines and riffs that sound like Clutch on downers. Effected vocals and pitched down samples sit on top of this to add an acid-fried weirdness to proceedings, echoing crazy Texans, Butthole Surfers.

“Cycloptic” 7inch//DD track listing:

1). Sundays Are Stupid
2). I’m That Asshole
3). Life’s A Joke
4). Tommy
5). Winter Blows
6). War Machine
7). Starship Mother Shit

The Review

Ever wondered what the Melvins would sound like if they were three times faster with a tenth of the attention span? New Haven trio, Grizzlor, are here to provide the answer in fine style on new 7” “Cycloptic”.

Barrelling through 7 tracks in 9 minutes is the kind of behaviour I’d normally associate with grind or crust bands, not a mid-pace noise rock band. I was initially sceptical about how this would work and worried that  Cycloptic” would just be a series of unsatisfactory truncated jams. Grizzlor soon put all doubts to rest.

Reverbed moans and maniacal laughter give way to the pummelling opening riff of “Sundays Are Stupid”. This track somehow manages to sound simultaneously cheerful and menacing, like going to the circus after your drink’s been spiked with LSD. This is a trick Grizzlor manage to pull off throughout “Cycloptic”, balancing dark humour and heavy aggression to great effect.

Each track is a barrage of filthy, lumbering Flipper-style basslines and riffs that sound like Clutch on downers. Effected vocals and pitched down samples sit on top of this to add an acid-fried weirdness to proceedings, echoing crazy Texans, Butthole Surfers. Somehow these 90-second bursts of noise manage to feel like fully-formed songs, cramming in more variation and surprise than you get in most songs twice the length without sounding forced or awkward.

Cycloptic” is an addictive blast of dirty air that makes you want to hit play again as soon as it’s over. You could have listened to most of it in the time it took to read this, so don’t waste any more time; get listening now.

“Cycloptic” is available here



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