Reviews

Slouch

El Colmo La Casa Invisible / I Hear Voices 7″

A two-song 7″ and the first physical release from this Los Angeles band, only available at shows and on Bandcamp. Both tracks live in the same haunted space: the title track, sung in Spanish, creeps through what might be a literal haunted house or something more allegorical, while the flip is a cover of SCREAMIN’ JAY HAWKINS’s “I Hear Voices,” channeling the original’s unhinged menace through a thick coat of reverb. The whole thing has a ’60s garage feel with an early psych edge, moody and atmospheric without ever dragging. They released a full-length 12″ just a couple months back, and this 7″ works as a nice entry point if you haven’t caught up yet.

Mask Appeal Slice & Slice EP

Debut release from Los Angeles-based MASK APPEAL. With members from DETROIT COBRAS, OOZELLES, and the STARLITE DESPERATION to name a few, this lot is well steeped in a noisy, industrial death wail akin to the BIRTHDAY PARTY. The bass is way up front in the mix, propelling this creature forward, with big, hall-reverb drums, and both set the stage for a writhing, shimmering guitar and howling vocals that inspire a morbid fascination. A tragic poem recited to an anxious pulse. Thank you to whatever forces of good and evil brought these three together, MASKED APPEAL truly rules.