Vipe/Cat Massacre Split
Control Force
I am the petrified forest of punk rock: my tastes calcified somewhere around 1997 and I doubt there's any flexibility left. So that may explain why I've had such a hard time sorting out my feelings about this Idaho twosome's split album.
Neither band strays far from the hardcore reservation over their combined 19 songs. In fact, Vipe could have written "Imposter" virtually any time in the last 30 years were it not for their penchant for croaking vocals that seem to work against the traditional punk aesthetic at times. I found it jarring, but younger punks weaned on modern hardcore may accept it as natural.
Cat Massacre specialize in short, direct songs that occasionally vary in tempo but remain largely consistent in shape and approach. So it's a pleasure when they bust out the inflatable bouncy castle riffing of "Jay Pfiffer," which hops on a hook that spirals throughout the song.
There are also nods to the classics, though, that make me smile. The intro to Cat Massacre's eponymous song reminds me a tad of Bad Brains' "Big Takeover" and Vipe pay tribute to the forefathers of the guitar buzzsaw with "Joey, Johnny, Tommy, Dee, Dee, Joel-Peter."
Wise Karlo, who is far more attuned to these things than I, really seemed to dig this one, and you know that guy has taste. You can also check it out at Control Force's Bandcamp page.
[Full disclosure: Control Force sent me a download.]
3 comments:
andrew, will you be circling the white house to oppose the keystone xl pipeline?
"toxiog"
not unless i get a burning urge to test out that "up to and including dismissal" clause in my contract at work.
If Karlo is wise then I'm a banana!
Sucks that Vipe broke up already. They upped their side of another split here: http://controlforce.bandcamp.com/album/downsided-vipe-split With the blastbeats and post-punk vibe, there's something damn fun about this band.
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