Reviewer: Chris Rickett

Released: 18th September 2015

Label: SideOneDummy

If there’s one thing Meat Wave don’t do on debut record ‘Delusion Moon’, it’s beat around the bush. From the very nanoseconds of the title track’s opening, the Chicago-based noise-punk trio have ploughed right through the bush and bounded straight over the horizon like a pensive Forest Gump. It’s unrelentless, it’s hectic, and it’s the only flavour on offer from a tracklisting boasting thirteen songs – but it’s a taste that sticks heavy on the tongue.

Vengeful cymbal hits and sneering squeals are the underlying driving force behind this record’s sonic aesthetic, while lunar cycles and ‘moon sickness’ are the main muses which pull in their lyrical satire – which from start to finish is played frenetically like, well, lunar-tics. This LP also finds a new home for fan favourites ’Sunlight’ and ’Sham King’, borrowed from their ‘Brother’ release earlier this year.

These could soon, however, be eclipsed by the moody and venomous ‘Network’ and scuzz-pop piledriver ‘Erased’, perhaps the only standout numbers from a police line-up of tracks. ‘Witchcraft’ tries to execute a more disjointed approach, centering around the reverberating wails of harrowing chords, while ‘Cosmic Zoo’ and album closer ‘The Gay Contempt’ are almost danceable.

It’s a blistering pace that’s a struggle to keep up with for the whole journey. It’s not so much a Meat Wave as it as an all-consuming fleshy tsunami. Although this breed of cut-the-brakes punk is obtrusive and in-your-face in all the right places, it offers little else in terms of versatility or gear changes.

Tags: Album Reviews, Reviews, Meat Wave, SideOneDummy