Expectations are high for this one as 2022's "God's Country" made it to number six on the Top 10 Punk Albums of the Year list. This album feels a great deal angrier. Where every band always says this will be a heavier album than our last, these guys just delivered. They still care about songwriting, perhaps even more so, as the almost industrial sludge beatings the album starts with give way to a more nuanced take with "Shame". The vocals are once again varied ranging from detached spoken word to growls and screams of all kinds. There is also more of an attempt at singing. The drummer is certainly out for blood as he is beating the shit out of his kit.
A mean bass tone bares its teeth leading into "Frownland". The syncopation is more industrial in the thump. The vocals work off repetitious chants and desperate cries of anguish,. "Funny Man" is the first song that finds things going off into a quirky angular direction though this time it has the throbbing weight of sonic malice behind it. The repetition of vocal lines finds a solid groove in the lurking tension of "Camcorder". They do not do darkness in a post-punk manner, but like a deranged alcoholic who is making threatening calls to your house.
"Tape" finds an effective balance of all the unhinged elements they are throwing at you. The sonic sweeps of guitar color the background. "the New World" finds the band stomping at you with more raw primal chaos."Masc" clearly reflects how the band's songwriting has matured without sacrificing its edge. "Milk of Human Kindness' has more melodic elements to its introspection as the pound moves to a more undercurrent. It does build up into an angrier throb. If Captain Beefheart or Tom Waits ever made a metal album it might sound like "No Way Out". There is the feeling of being in a circus sideshow in the odd timing and eerie guitar lines. I will go ahead and round this up to a 10 as it's better than their previous album in that it packs a more defined punch thanks to the taunt songwriting.
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