Burning Ghats Different Names for the Same Face
Bandcamp
If Burning Ghats weren't accomplished at what they do (and if I wanted to be a complete asshole), I'd say this five song EP should be renamed Different Names for the Same Song. But I don't want to do that because, on the whole, I enjoyed Burning Ghats' followup to the Fool's Gold EP. However, I have to acknowledge the Canadian band's thrash-tinged hardcore feels a bit smudged at times. The barrier between songs is permeable and one tends to bleed into another, but no worse than a million other punk and grind albums. Four out of the five songs feature some variation on chugging guitars with screaming phosphorous leads, drums content to keep the beat with the occasional timely fill and vocals permanently set to spittle-flecked madness.
But it's that other 20 percent, closeout track "Copacetic Deadbeat," that redeems the whole package. It shakes up Burning Ghats' familiarity with down tempos that give the guitars time to ring and chime, a prominent spotlight on swinging power cable bass and the occasional chanting drone. I probably would have shuffled the song up earlier in the rotation just because I'm not a fan of every band sticking their odd song out at the end, but that's just me.
Though the songs suffer from an overall lack of distinction and variety, there's enough frenetic energy driving Burning Ghats to make that an easily forgivable sin.
As always, though, Burning Ghats have incredibly striking, subcontinental-inflected artwork. I'd really love to see this one pressed to vinyl with a giant cover to pore over while Different Names for the Same Face gets cranked on the stereo.
[Full disclosure: The band sent me a download.]
No comments:
Post a Comment