POISON THE WELL

I approached this album with some trepidation; I'd read some reviews that were less than flattering, which put me in a negative frame of mind. My first listen too made me skip through it and confirm that, yes, maybe the reviews were accurate. But no, give this some time, and it creeps under your skin and refuses to budge. It's not a revelatory experience, but there's enough being done to allow you to peel back the layers and examine the inner workings of a band at the peak of their craft. I particularly like the galloping guitar lines, breaking free from the usual power/barre chords of post-hardcore at times, and settling for single string surf. There's none of the novelty that QOTSA present in their similar moments, which can only be a good thing. However, imagine Dave Grohl's Probot experiment (specifically the Mike Dean song) mixed with the Foo Fighters, and we're a little towards getting to where this album sits. Standout for me is 'When you Lose I Lose as Well'. Putting down the post-hardcore rulebook for a moment, they get down to some pretty effective flamenco-ish guitar, with the vocals providing a lovely vibrato, before exploding into a heavier ending. Summer tunes for a sunny Winter-time. 'Are You Anywhere?' is almost chart-friendly with its lilting guitar lines and smooth crooning, shattered by some near death metal screaming over some brutal riffing. Fantastic.

LABEL:

FORMAT:

Ferret Records

Album

THE TROPIC ROT

Review by Steve Cowan

RUNNING TIME:

47:20

RELEASE DATE:

6th July 2009

TRACK LISTING

1) Exist Underground
2) Sparks It Will Rain
3) Cinema
4) Pamplemousse
5) Who Doesn't Love a Good Dismemberment
6) Antarctica Inside Me
7) When You Lose I Lose As Well
8) Celebrate The Pyre
9) Are You Anywhere
10) Makeshift Clay You
11) Without You And One Other I Am Nothing

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:

USA

"... It's not a revelatory experience, but there's enough being done to allow you to peel back the layers and examine the inner workings of a band at the peak of their craft."