Kong/That Fucking Tank/Shield Your Eyes/Castrovalva - Split 10"
Genres: Hardcore/Punk/Alt. Rock/Metal
Rating: 8/10
Brew is a record company from Leeds that specialises in all things Heavy. Whilst the label has only a handful of acts in its roster most of the bands on the label are widely received as experts in their individual fields and most them have been showered with praise from the independent music press. Whilst most of the music the label showcases is not for the faint hearted the bands are actually quite diverse in terms of sound. Whilst the majority deal in metal and hardcore most of the bands have their own unique angle on this genres creating heavy music that isn't confined to formulas and rules. Following the success of a split release vinyl released for this years record store day the boys at Brew decided to cook up another split. This release see's two of the labels bands joined by two non brew affiliated artists That Fucking Tank and Shield Your Eyes.
The split EP starts with Kong's latest tune Ribbons from their second upcoming album. Kong are a three piece band which was originally a side project of Oceansize drummer Mark Heron and bassist Steve Hodson. Now that Oceansize have split both Mark and Steve have taken on the project full time and are gearing up to release their hotly anticipated second album. The bands sound is frequently compared to the sound Steve Albini's experimental rock band Shellac but this comparison falls short by a mile when trying sum up the bands sound. The band are a scary mash up of deranged complex rythms lightning fast drumming and angular guitar stabs that could put chills up the biggest hardcore fans spine. As far as singing goes the band stick to punk ethics with lead singer "Magpie" wailing like an unintelligible drunk banshee over the powerhouse delivery of crashing cymbals and punishing riffs. "Ribbons" is no different to the bands normal modus operandi if anything it is a little more chaotic and heavier than usual but brilliant all the same. Shield Your Eyes follow this with "Jessica". Another underground three piece band Shield Your Eyes are not an obvious choice to follow Kong or even an obvious choice to put on this split at all. The bands sound is highly reminiscent of the early hardcore/emo of the 1990's. The bands combination of raw production and off kilter high pitched guitar playing works though and acts as a lovely segway between tracks.
That Fucking Tank follow this with "NWONWOBH". The band deliver as ever a well polished and realised track. The band specialise in creating proggy instrumentals by intertwining basic riffs with spacey distorted guitars and a tight rythms and despite the silly track names (a recurring theme for the band) they deliver their best moves here. It is down to the Brew boy's own Castrovalva to close the whole thing down with "In Our Prime". Castrovalva produce an odd mixture of Grime, Dubstep and Hardcore. A mixture that if I'm honest may be one step too far for my own personal tastes but needless to say the make no apologies for it and deliver a suitably arrogant and punchy tune with a few dubstep "wobs" thrown in. The free download that accompanies the bright orange vinyl also comes with a remix of Kong's "Ribbons" by instrumental post rockers 65daysofstatic and turns the fierce 2 minutes of chaos into a sparse crackly brooding masterpiece.
Overall for a mixed bag of obscure and unknown bands Brew's latest split vinyl is yet again a great success. Whilst the bands don't play the same types of music at all the release acts as a brilliant taste of some of the underground talent the UK has to offer. Whilst you may not like it all from start to finish it's highly unlikely you'll be able to go through the whole 5 tracks without finding something that appeals.
Recommended: Kong "Ribbons", That Fucking Tank "NWONWOBH"
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