HOT GUTS / POP.1280 - "Split 7 inch" (Badmaster)

 Ornery Cirtter's early vote for split record of 2010, hands down.If you are already in tune with these seminal acts, then you know what kind of badass-ery to expect here.Hot Guts, who share members with FNU/Chickens, run their half into the ground with two very heavy and very awesome tracks.Both songs seem to come from two completely different worlds, as most of their work seems to do.Heavy on the blown-out riffing and syncopated drum pounding, they combine to create rich textures and vast landscapes.The vocals are clear and untreated, goth dipped hymns and borderline chants.The lyrics are hopeful yet spiteful tales, and rest perfectly in the walls of sonic power they build around them.An early Swans influence is present on all ends of the spectrum.
 The recording is a bit more polished than their Badmaster debut 7", but their clarity doesn't take away from the heady fuzz that surrounds them.If this is any insight tho their upcoming full length, we are all in for quite a treat.

  Pop. 1280 takes over with a song called "Neon Lights", a mid-paced downer that fills their entire side of the record.A dense and sputtering synthesizer dirge kicks things into overdrive, as brash a throaty lyrical upheavals coat the band's usual driving, percussive beat down like a crude oil poured over busted pistons.Their woozy, damaged guitar noodling is similar the sound of a rat drowning in a new york sewer.There is fair amount of power behind their ugly chord structures that keep things moving.Pissed Jeans' gloom, and Black Flag's drive are definitely obvious traits, but this is the sound of a band doing things on their own terms, and giving nor a fuck about stepping outside of their style, or even stepping into one to begin with.
 They just recorded their upcoming 12" entitled "The Grid", out soon on Sacred Bones.Both of these bands are quickly taking over 2010's heavy music bracket, and sure to make end of year lists all over the place.

HOT GUTS - "The Ballad of Jon Simon" 7 inch (Badmaster)

                        
  
  Hot Guts are a dark,heavy as bricks band from Philly.Apparently they've got kind of a bad rep. there,but who gives a shit anyway?These 3 songs are some of the more refreshing and inventive I've heard in a while.Each track is pretty much a completely different landscape,and the styles here are a bit varied,but in a really cohesive way that lets you know they are definitely Hot Guts.The title track is a thick and powerful tune,with dense guitars and pounding drums fighting to push their deep,goth-tinged vocals into the foreground.It's a catchy and moody banger,and though it never really changes too much,it's killer heaviness and brash drive keep you from straying.The vocals are deep and harmonized,and sound like they are coming from a very straight faced bunch of dudes.Older Nick Cave is sorta of there,and there's a definite Swans fan somewhere in the group.The lyrics are good and never get in the way,or compromise their awesome songwriting ability.It all fits together almost too well,really.I will proudly admit that I was totally involved in this by the 30 second mark,and it only get better.
 
  By the time I got to the second track,I knew there was no turning back."Abandon At Leisure" is a glitched-out,more daring number than the first.With layers of guitar skronk and borderline drum n' bass approach to their downer rock jams.Things take a turn when their scratchy and possessed sounding shouts come into play,live drums move things forward for a bit before this weirdo free-jam seems to end rather abruptly.A pretty decent "middle song" for this kind of thing I guess.And in a live setting might segue into the next song pretty well.

  The last,and personal favorite track is an ethereal creep-fest called "Did You Not Go To The Dance Alone?".A 6 minute + ride into a dark world of tribal drums and eerie vocal passages.The murky voices remind me of Drum's Not Dead era Liars,even the instrumentation is similar to their more hypnotic moments.A good thing if you ask me.About half way through,a noodling guitar echoes in the back and introduces a very straight forward and driving rock n' roll finish.An early 90's indie rock fuzz closes this thing out,and then you wished that there were then more to follow.All you need to know is that this killer 3 song gem holds MUCH bigger contents than it's little paper sleeve would seem to allow.To sleep on this one would be a grave mistake,especially when their LP comes out and blows us all away later this year,and you regret not knowing about this already.Look for a split with Pop.1280 who also rule the school,out now on Badmaster.Their full length is in the works..More on that later.
MJO