Artist: Useless Eaters

Album: Temporary Mutilation

Label: Slovenly Recordings

Released: February 2016

 

It is clear within seconds of switching on Temporary Mutilation, that Useless Eaters produce a sound that is both provoking and edgy but is above all ominous. This is an EP that requires one to start at the beginning and go through to the last track to fully appreciate its certain brilliance. If you survive this listen, great, if not you’re probably not listening to it correctly or on the right substances. So after getting settled, start with the title track, “Temporary Mutilation.” After giving it a few spins, I picked up the feeling of something deviously raw that begs to be stretched into the realm of experimental, while maintaining its roots in in a punk-styled defiant attitude. “Breathing Smear” continues on this trend, but is more up-tempo with a prominent backbeat. In contrast, “Poison Dart” has a distinctly static like beat that gives the track a more synthetic and heavy feel. “Car Accident Face” utilizes prominent razor sharp riffs and is almost hypnotic in its fast rhythms and provocative repetitiveness. The last number, “Scene and Sequence,” has elements of all three, but comes across most of all as a song that is meant to lull someone into a false sense of security and put them into a deep trance-like state. What happens after being put under this eerie spell? I’m not sure I can accurately say, but I appear to be somewhat poorer and have now been notified of this EP being shipped to me. Viva.

By Nick Kuzmack (Nix Beat)