If a book shouldn’t be judged by its cover – which, actually, is a proposition that warrants much more critical attention than it tends to receive – then an album shouldn’t always be judged by its opening riff. But one aural glimpse of Provokasia, the opening track on Damn Terran’s debut album, and you’re instantly hooked. Packing the punch of a left over track from Ministry’s glory period, it’s industrial rock with a dirty gilt edge. This, you hope sincerely, should be good.
And it is. Damn Terran offer plenty of solid rock to lie across, and indulge in the sheer beauty of it all. Lost is replete with the pissed-off post-adolescent sensibility that sustained many an angry young SST band fighting the new wave jive of the 1980s. Simon’s Song is a mash-up of feedback and jarring chords, all flailing limbs and thrashing punk attitude; with its grinding riff and melodic vocals, A Killer could pass for a Husker Du track given the once-over by Love of Diagrams.
While Wrong Things errs on the safe side, Rebels is back in the realm of post-grunge, and all prisoners have been let loose with ne’er a care for society’s sonic preservation. The prevailing riff in Pills sounds close enough to Cosmic Psychos’ Lost Cause as to be a long-lost fraternal acquaintance; Downtown invokes the spirit of The Stooges, and the look and feel of Funhouse and finds a perfect rock’n’roll niche. Burlesque Dancer hits the ground running, all amphetamine rush and forbidden emotional angst; So Ordinary arrests the pace temporarily, before taking you back to that wild time 20 odd years ago before diving from the stage attracted the attention of the fun police.
Uncanny Valley hangs out in the same New York loft where Sonic Youth wrenched, bashed and thrashed rock’n’roll into hitherto incomprehensible form; In Your Dreams warrants its own restraining order, lest it completely fuck with your mind. This is an album that commands attention, from the first pummelling riff, til the last thrashing beat.
BY PATRICK EMERY
Best Track: Provokasia
If You Like These, You’ll Like This: SONIC YOUTH, MINISTRY
In A Word: Riffage
