Review: The Janitors - Evil Doings Of An Evil Kind EP

So the relatives have all buggered off back home, the house is almost back to calm, the dog is releasing noxious fumes due to the illicit sprouts smuggled to him under the table and all that's left is my own body weight in mince pies to get through. What better way to reacclimatise myself to normality than this EP that arrived on my doorstep on Christmas Eve.

For those unlucky enough to not know the Janitors, they are a bunch of Swedish heads who specialise in dark, hypnotic, drone laden psych. This EP, released in Sept '14 on Bad Afro records, is another fine release - a hard-hitting diatribe against the rise of the right wing arseholes in Europe (becoming more and more prevalent here in the UK with the likes of that wanker Farage).

The EP's opener 'Greed' is an intense and relentless blast of fuzz and repetitive beats that pounds one into a trance-like state. 'Black Wheel' has a more relaxed vibe to it (that is, of course, a relative statement - The Beach Boys this ain't!) with an almost eighties goth tinge to it - ringing, fuzzy guitars over a steady, unwavering bassline that build to a frenzied crescendo. 'Here They Come' was the single lifted from the EP and what a righteous monolithic slab of drone psych it is - a riff carved from granite that is insistent and foreboding alongside an almost martial drumbeat. It is track that does not threaten bad things, it promises!; A politically charged headfuck. The closer is 'There Will Be Blood' and is possibly the most mainstream; a fuzz driven song with motorik drums that still maintains the feeling of dread imbued by the previous tracks.

This EP doesn't take any prisoners either musically or politically, and is so much the better for it. A stark, and sometimes uncomfortable, listen but one that should surely cement The Janitors star in the firmament of modern psych / drone. If you like this, check out 'Drone Head', the long player released in 2013.



Links:

Bandcamp

Faceache