So Pitted - neo

Based in Seattle and signed to Sub Pop, So Pitted don’t so much relive grunge’s heady days as rip up the formula entirely. In fact, the trio don’t remotely resemble their heroes. But it’s difficult to say exactly where their distorted, junk food punk stems from.

Whenever debut LP ‘neo’ swerves close to normality, these formula-shunners tear things to shreds. Opener ‘cat scratch’ is true to its title, a dastardly graze that won’t fade anytime soon. ‘no nuke country’ is frustration epitomised in ultra-disjointed form. So Pitted tend to find the rulebook, chuck it into dynamite before penning their own in smudgy, indecipherable shades.

No doubt about it, some of ‘neo’ is truly horrible. Intentionally so. It’s maddeningly loud, loosely formed, disgusting like a romantic weekend trip down the local sewers. Chew it up, spit it out and ‘neo’ might wind up being less gross. As it is, this is an offensive blitz into the unknown with occasional hints that So Pitted might be onto something. Just the way they like it.