Review: Big Naturals & Anthroprophh - S/T

There are continual rumours and murmurs of upcoming releases doing the rounds, but the one that really had me drooling into my cocoa was a joint Big Naturals (possibly the most ungoogle friendly of band names - explain that one to the missus!) and Anthroprophh. The Big Naturals debut a few years ago was a masterclass in punk/noise that just about blew everything else out of the water at the time, and Anthroprophh have produced some of the best vinyl moments in recent years ('Outside The Circle', ‘Ebbe’/ ‘Precession’ and 'UFO'). The union of Big Naturals Jesse Webb (drums) and Gareth Turner (bass/electronics) with the maestro of fuzzy psych/kraut guitar Paul Allen is a prospect that should have every head slathering in anticipation. So who's bringing us this monumental slab of noisy goodness...Cardinal Fuzz of course, as well as the equally veritable Captcha Records.

Side one is dedicated to Big Naturals' 21 minute 'God Shaped Hole'. Starting with an ominous drone and electronic chatter under which a drum beats out a tribal rhythm, it opens up brilliantly with blasts of guitar and pummeling drums....only 5 minutes in and already they are making Killdozer sound like kids party entertainers. The track progresses in wave upon wave of sonic assaults, the buzzsaw that is Allen's guitar creates an impenetrable wall of sound while the rhythm section of Webb and Turner builds a megolithic framework on which to hang everything. It is one of those tracks that pins the listener down and repeatedly fucks their skull....no quarter asked or given, but then who would want it? There are brief interludes of relative peace in which the drone comes to the fore, but things soon build again and the aural terrorism recommences...this is big, this is ace!

After the skull fucking of side 1, there are no cuddles and 'I love you's...Side 2 is comprised of 3 tracks from Anthroprophh and the intensity is maintained, to say the least. 'Farce Without End' dives straight into the deep end...no prolonged intro or slow build...but jumps straight into an intense fuzz-fest with a perverted middle-eastern motif. The guitar drones and the crashing percussion creates an intense form of claustrophobia...that feeling that there is no escaping this, but the concept of the Stockholm syndrome was surely created for moments like these...why would I want to escape from this. The only respite are the brief moments where a piano can be heard playing what sounds like a number from a groovy Italian film soundtrack. The track ends in a glorious breakdown of feedback and reverb...heaven! ‘Narwhallian Social Purge’ does the seemingly impossible...it ratchets up the intensity and foreboding even further. It is a monumental piece of noise rock....forever teetering on the edge of completely losing all form and function, truly the soundtrack to schizophrenia...It is not for the fainthearted but for those brought up on a diet of Amphetamine Reptile or Blast First recordings it is both a flashback to happy days and a sign that all is right with the world. ‘Chubbock’s Last Tape (Another Nail)’ opens with a drone and some jazz inflections that create a sonic chiaroscuro...the juxtaposition of dark, experimental drone with the (relatively) mainstream jazz form. The track is ever changing, never content with staying in the same place, almost like a musical wanderlust or a severe example of sonic ADHD - the one constant is the low, doom-like rumble that shakes the speakers and rattles the ribcage (and freaks the dog out....he's not a fan!). It all comes together to form a gloriously dissonant miasma of noise that takes the listener to wherever he/she chooses to go.

This is a HUGE album...all my expectations were met, hell...even surpassed! From start to finish it is a barrage of wonderful, unrelenting noise. For all its bleakness (not a Heathcliff standing on the wind ravaged Yorkshire Moors bleak, rather a Ballardian urban dystopia bleak) it is an exhilarating ride through the dark recesses of the minds of Allen, Webb and Turner. It may ball gag you and beat you into submission, but you'll still say 'more please' when it finishes - like the dark mistress of your dreams (or is that just me?). Musically it takes in the heaviness of the aforementioned Killdozer, the abstract noisy of Incapacitants and the sonic maelstrom of Melt Banana all via the psych sensibilities of The Heads.....it is friggin' ace. On a purely personal note it took me back to my teen years and on the cusp of the musical journey to where I am now.....for that I thank you guys. The album is a joint Cardinal Fuzz / Captcha Records release, out on 8th July (pre-orders are up now!)