Black Pus, the solo project of Brian Chippendale (the demented drummer in Lightning Bolt), supposedly emphasises the “pop elements” of its creators musical personality. I think it is pretty safe to say that this tells us far more about Chippendale himself than his second solo record, ‘All My Relations’.
As ever on an album with Chippendale behind the kit, there is an extraordinary array of sounds on offer on ‘All My Relations’. A drummer who often bends the rules well past breaking point, he leaps between a vast array of styles with the ease of a man born to play each, yet it is the fashion in which he defines the furious pace of ‘All My Relations’ that is most significant here. To call this record ferocious would be to understate the incredibly dexterous succession of terminal velocities that fly about all over the place like drunken pigeons. As Chippendale tries his best to beat his drum kit into a state of severe disrepair, a huge variety of triggered electronic sounds explode around him like ill-timed fireworks, and there is a sea of hideously heavy sub-woofer breaking bass in the mix too.
Engaging though this hectic concoction of noise is there is far more to ‘All My Relations’ than merely pure sonic bombardment. Nestling or perhaps more accurately, taking refuge, under the cataclysmic war going on above are, whisper it, actual songs. The likes of ‘Fly on the Wall’ and ‘Word on the Street’ are probably the most memorable but even the most leftfield moments, such as the thunderously lengthy closer ‘A Better Man’, have some discernible tuneful moments. The fun, I suppose, is meant to come out of searching for them.
However, it seems highly unlikely that all that many people will be able to stomach the vicious noise mongering that dominates ‘All My Relations’ on first listen. Over the length of the eight songs on this record one could be forgiven for reaching a point at which it all just becomes too much. For those who persevere there are some serious rewards, but make sure you have some headache tablets to hand before diving in.
'All My Relations' is out today, Monday 18th March, via Thrill Jockey.
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As ever on an album with Chippendale behind the kit, there is an extraordinary array of sounds on offer on ‘All My Relations’. A drummer who often bends the rules well past breaking point, he leaps between a vast array of styles with the ease of a man born to play each, yet it is the fashion in which he defines the furious pace of ‘All My Relations’ that is most significant here. To call this record ferocious would be to understate the incredibly dexterous succession of terminal velocities that fly about all over the place like drunken pigeons. As Chippendale tries his best to beat his drum kit into a state of severe disrepair, a huge variety of triggered electronic sounds explode around him like ill-timed fireworks, and there is a sea of hideously heavy sub-woofer breaking bass in the mix too.
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