Whores : "Gold"

This Atlanta trio has been gaining some buzz. They are devout followers of the path paved by the Amp Rep bands like Unsane, Helmet, Jawbox, the Jesus Lizard and Killdozer. Back in the day when this noise-rock or post hard-core movement of band's emerged they were for hipsters who wanted something with more teeth than Sonic Youth. Whores carries this torch. The opener is impressive in it's out burst of energy. I where the vocals sit on the verse going into this it reminds a little of older Today is the Day. They lock into kicking up the dirt in a more syncopated manner for " Baby Teeth". Sonically it stays in a similar place as the opener with waves of feed back and plenty of punches.

The song titles have tongue in cheek irony to them and it's all very clever. I have never really thought of this sort of thing as metal as it owes way more to punk than say Iron Maiden. It is very dense and well produced for the sound they are going for. The vocals are yelled in an angry monotone bark. When it comes to this sort of thing I like the Jesus Lizard because there is a darker chaos to what they do. Here a manner of restraint is employed, though the noisy bits of feed back around some of the sharp riffing creates a little sonic ambiance. One of my favorite song titles on this album is "Mental Illness As mating Ritual". This one allows the vocals to lament a little more over the verses.

"Ghost Trash" goes more Helmet with it's groove. At time it bares it's teeth more than Page Hamilton and the boys have lately, though I am going to review the new Helmet album "Dead to the World" when I am done with this so I guess we shall see. There is a more straight forward punk attitude to "Charlie Chaplin Routine". It comes clawing at you full throttle to the point of almost becoming a blur of white noise. The vocals serve more purpose on "Of Course You Do" that balances out a mean bass tone with some breathing room to give a little more dynamic range. My second favorite song title on this album is " I See You Also Wearing a Black T-shirt". This one is another more punk ditty. At this point in the album the vocals are beginning to bore my a little as they retain a similar snarl throughout, but the drumming on this song is impressive.

"Bloody Like the Day Your Were Born" feels more solidly written and nuanced,  it might be my favorite song on the album. The first dynamic ebb in energy is on the more deliberate crunch of "I Have A Prepared Statement". I like this side of the band more than the relentless frantic beating they give your ears for the bulk of this album. It has some strong moments, but not as varied in mood as most of the music I listen to. I hated their cover of the Cure's "Jumping Someone Else's Train" so this is a vast improvement. I'll give this album an 8, though I personally don't see myself returning to it, if this is your thing then it might give you things the new Helmet album won't I guess I'll find out in ten seconds.