Do you ever wonder what would have happened if Kyuss had been hi-jacked by Mogwai and then sent staggering across a swamp loaded only with PCP? If you do then Partchimp are undoubtedly for you.
Opening with ‘trad’ which doesn’t so much start as launch itself at you clawing at your vital organs with huge swathes of distorted guitar tearing across drums which sound like they were recorded in hell’s own sound booth. With such an opener you’d be forgiven for imagining that Partchimp would struggle to intensify their hulking sound but second track ‘ffffff’ does an admirable job by opening on what sounds like jam-session noodling before lurching off into a white-hot, molten fit that sees clattering drums surging out of the mix while vocals occasionally appear from beneath the wall of distortion only to be swallowed up again. ‘Dirty sun’ settles into a fantastic groove – all howling feedback but with a melodic vocal that rises out of the static and noise to lodge deep inside your head before ducking back down before anyone notices the band have done anything as shameful as approach a tune.
‘Sweet’ is another rip-roaring blast of feral sludge rock, all crashing cymbals and howls while ‘tomorrow midnite’ slows the pace down to a sombre crawl which brings to mind bands such as Cathedral and Reverend Bizarre with its visceral, mud-caked take on Black Sabbath. ‘Today 2’ is an art-rock experiment that seems to swell out of feedback before the bass and drums smother everything in blanket of noise. ‘Today 3’ is closer to Botch, with its crazed rhythmic attack and frothing guitars before ‘super moody’ appears, almost out of nowhere, with its chiming Mogwai guitars and gently crooned vocal. Finale ‘Starpiss’ is equally mellow in the outset with My Bloody Valentine’s jangling guitars slowly building to a cacophony of noise and shattered strings.
‘Thriller’ is a bold, arty mess of a record that only improves with every listen. Recalling to mind the best elements of the stoner/sludge/indie scene of the mid-ninties, it is greater than the sum of its parts, sounding fresh and terrifyingly huge. This is pure, unselfconscious rock music created for the joy of music itself rather than any tawdry concern such as sales. If unadulterated, feral rock noise is your thing then you owe it to yourself to buy this record now. Easily one of the records of the year.
Partchimp ‘Thriller’ is out now on Rock Action Records.
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