Mat Mcnerney from Beastmilk is taking things in a more apocalyptic direction with this album. Joining him is the drummer from the Viagra Boys and Nate Newton from Converge on bass. "Will to Live" is hooky in the same way Killing Joke is. The guests keep coming as Big Paul Ferguson plays drums on 'She Wolf of London" as Creeper vocalist Will Gould lends his voice to the song. It is starker sonically than the previous songs, and might take a few more listens for me to digest. The guitar is almost abrasive. The hooky refrain of "Another Day Another Abyss" is on the dancier new wave end of post-punk and works really well.
"Wall to Wall" has a harder punk edge to it, but is balanced out by Mat's superior songwriting skills. They have captured a mood that is angry and ominous yet hooky in this bleak take on post-punk. The Killing Joke influence is very apparent here. The tense shadows of atmosphere that hang over this song feel very organic. "Slime of the Times" is more angular in its dissonant doomsday waltz. 'Silver Pigs" is driven by a more punk feeling that feels pretty natural.
"All Snakes, No Ladders" is the kind of vocal performance I prefer from Mat. This might be because it sounds the most like Beastmilk of all the songs on this album. All the songs on this album lock into a droning jam of their refrains that is an effective formula. The last song is more melodic and more melancholy as it ponders a post-apocalyptic outcome. I will round this up to a 10, as the elements that differ from what I am familiar with coming from him are due to the rough punk edges, which just need to grow on me.
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