"Hibernation" by Blood On The Wall
At some point, every punk band's need to scream, bleed, and shit all over itself becomes hopelessly entangled in a desire to eat real food and get a pat on the head. But Blood On The Wall doesn't worry about such conundrums on its third full-length, Liferz. The band's sonic blade of choice is a dull, rusty machete, and its art-contorted hooks are far from friendly. Like the band's previous output, Liferz summons the serrated, sloppy indie-rock of early Superchunk and Pavement while maintaining a polite distance from its inspirations and its audience. There's a forcefield of deranged cool around the band's jagged, homely pop implosions, although "Lightning Songs" is a smoldering wreck that finds bassist Courtney Shanks doing her best Kim Gordon come-on, and "Sorry Sorry Sarah" is almost violently infectious. But the album's final three tracks—erupting in a vicious, five-minute flame-bath called "Acid Fight"—leave no doubt that Blood On The Wall can clean and cook what it kills.
A.V. Club Rating: B+
- Comments