Blood Sun Circle : " Distorted Forms"

This band from New York caught me by surprise as they are much darker than what you normally think of when it comes to noise rock. There is a rowdier spastic anger to the second song that finds them falling somewhere in-between the Jesus Lizard and Black Flag. They lock into bouncing chants. I can also hear a darker side that hints at a Nick Cave influence lurking here though not a pronounced as the first song. "the Golden Bones" is more angular to the point of making the song songwriting seem awkward until they transition int more of a groove.The manage to also find the play where they are sonically heavy. The tense pounding of "the Spook" is the first song that doesn't deliver the extent of it's promise. The melodic dissonance of " Eyeless Bliss" works pretty well almost to a Swans like proportion. Here the drone has more pay off in it's explosive release.

"Mercykill" picks up where the previous song left off though there is a more bouncing variation on the droning throb of a riff this song sinks it's teeth into . Unlike Swans these guys keep their drone within the confines of a more standard song time frame. There is less of a jamming experimentation. Some of the riffs have more exotic touches that bring to mind Wovenhand,especially on "Firebath" where the singer actually sings more than just hollering and scowling to varied degrees. "Learn to Love" also has more of the melodic qualities they dabbled with on previous song. The monstrous tone of the bass player continues to ground the more atmospheric jangle of the guitar. The vocals go into more of a chant at one point that sits nicely against the more chilling guitar passages.By the end of the songs the vocals have escalated into more of a howl.

There is a more weighty pound to the darker "Hideous Twin". I don't feel this song hooks me in as much though it could be that the further into the album we get I grow more accustomed to their sound so it becomes less of a novelty and needs more song writing to hold my attention. There is moment in this song where it clicks for me that in some ways these guys are likea heavier version of the Afghan Whigs. The guitar continue to pick out an eerie brooding melody on "Son of the Stars". The vocals are more of a whispered croon. Overall this album is pretty killer I will give it a 9 for now and see how it sits on me. I like the moods it captures and for noise rock doesn't just settle for ripping off the Amp Rep bands.

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