There There LP
Sprawling, lush experimental rock from Providence, RI that skillfully meshes elements of dissonant noise punk with layered shoegaze. “Disposable Head” loops a noisy guitar hook against a counterpoint of tense, rising chords to create a textured cloud of arty menace that manages to feel grounded and rich. It’s a kind of anti-shoegaze that is compelling in its power to pull the listener in with catchy, repeated rock band motifs without relinquishing their spirit of atonal experimentation. The nine-minute “Dirtbreather” similarly mixes the sonic vocabulary of aggression and warmth, recalling bands like NOTHING and the more melodic moments of CHAT PILE. Most importantly, at nine minutes, it doesn’t drag for a second, and the same goes for the thirteen-minute, psych-heavy closer, “The Famous Handsome Actor.” THERE wrestles the power of skronk into fresh forms of beauty.