CCR Headcleaner are another band I caught live without any expectation of what they sounded like. If you want to read my spiel about how much I love it when this happens, check out the section on Nude Sunrise above. I can't quite remember why I ended up at this show in the first place, but I know there had to be a reason as it was in Nashville, and I never go to Nashville for shows without a good reason. Maybe a friend of mine was playing? Anyway, it doesn't matter, I'm just very glad I went as CCRH's set was nothing short of amazing.
From what I understand, CCRH is made up of three quarters of the now defunct Athens, GA based psych band Long Legged Woman, who were also quite amazing, though had a very different vibe. While LLW was definitely way out there in terms of their level of psychedelic weirdness, their songwriting style was often reminiscent of 80s style indie rock producing a sound perhaps comparable to early Dinosaur Jr., but way more fucked up. I would even go so far as to say that amidst the chaos, LLW's sound could sometimes be considered 'warm'.
Maybe it was the move to the Bay Area, or maybe they just traded in their Replacements CDs for Discharge records, but whatever happened, the band I saw that night had way more in common with crust punk and Sabbath influenced sludge rock than anything resembling warmth. What really made them interesting though, was the fact that the psychedelic elements were kept firmly intact producing a style so strange and unique I wondered if it even existed before these guys started doing it. I was absolutely blown away.
Strangely enough, this album displays little of that sound (it can be heard quite prominently however on the 'Live at WNYU' EP, which I will no doubt be discussing here very soon) or of the sound LLW were known for. Instead the sound here mostly consists of totally over the top guitar / vocal meditations which at times remind me of a more aggressive, badly recorded mid-period Black Dice.
There are of course some occasional traces of the band I saw that night, as well as of their former band's bright and poppy songwriting style, though the latter moments are decidedly way noisier than anything I've ever heard by LLW. I suppose it's possible they played several of these songs when I saw them and I just don't remember them because I was so taken by the thrash elements and because it's been so long (over a year). At this point, it's impossible to tell. This record however stands firmly on it's own and presents a very bizarre young band blasting weird for the weirdos. If that includes you, this record is definitely worth your time. They used to have a website with tons of free downloads which is where I got this, but it appears to be down. You can check them out on myspace here.
No comments:
Post a Comment