The Murder Chord- The Blunt Cut
6/10

With the grouchy growl of an adolescent Lemmy and the pompous piano jilts of the Dresden Dolls nursed with the overblown pretension of hair metal the likes of Slayer, proudly eccentric Auckland duo The Murder Chord has certainly caused some murmurs for their shit-stirring new take on rock and roll. While the piano scales and flair can grate and the stuttery rants nigh on fake or staged, The Murder Chord seems to revel in shock rock style. Truly interesting is the staggered reggae of third song ‘Ska Trance’ – a dubious, creeping song that lurks with David Hine (from Missing Teeth)’s unabashed Kiwi spit and wallowing organ sound with Ryan Sikes (from Real, Real Sick)’ subtley choppy drums gradually increasing the tension until it eventually devolves into a rubbery mess. ‘Fresh Zombies’ conspires Hine’s Motörhead-esque throaty growl with almost cabaret piano lines, making for a less-harrowing, more befuddling track. ‘Night Sweats’s pop sensibility brings back the strength of their song writing in more of a pop format. Ultimately a well recorded, impressively strong-willed and varied release. For those that can handle vocals delivered with a sarcastic grin and ironic pop culture lyrics about zombies and freak deaths, this will excite. Others may not be able to handle all of the self-conscious spite. The liner notes are thoroughly entertaining, though, describing each song’s subject instead of typically printing lyrics or screeds of boring credits. This allows us to learn that ‘Fresh Zombies’ came from a dream, ‘Murder Song’ is about different ways that one can be killed, and ‘Night Sweats’ shares a snippet of different knowledge altogether. “Did you know that dolphins can rest each side of the brain independently, which allows them to operate for days at a time without having to become fully unconscious (like we do). Dolphins are clearly party animals, but a little camp for my liking.”
Sarah

 

Posted by Sarah Gooding under Album, Reviews
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