Akimbo - Jersey Shores
It's with albums like this that I realise that my obsessive collecting of music is worthwhile. A friend once told me that all record collectors were on a never ending quest to attain the perfect album. Maybe this is true, however for me it's quest to ensure that I don't miss out. What if my favourite band is out there, yet I've never heard them!
So we come to Akimbo. 'Jersey Shores' landed on the E&D desk with no fanfare and a photocopied sleeve but as it was on Neurot Records the chances were that it was going to be good. Well, I haven't discovered my new favourite band but sweet lord above it's good. Because of the quality of the music I decided to check out where these snotty, new, upstart punks came from only to discover that this is their 6th release after forming in the late nineties!!! Where was I? What've I been doing with myself? Where was the fucking memo?
On opener 'Matawan' we're given 1.5 mins of minimal bass, and slightly picked guitar with the sound of waves hitting the shore for accompaniment. It almost sounds like it'll break into a Pleasure Forever style song until (as Mike Reid would say) WALLOP!! - a behemoth-like juggernaut of guitar noise. Crunching riffs and ride cymbal battle it out before the wailing of Jon Weisnewski, who is part Steve Albini, part banshee, joins in the free for all. These guys really beef it up.
'Matawan' segues seamlessly into 'Bruder Vansant' with its giant riffs, which then drop out and leaves the track resembling the soundtrack to a Vietnam film when it goes all psychedelic and trippy, only to come pounding in again and ending it like a terrorist attack - this is stoner music played for a hardcore crowd or hardcore played by stoners, but I'm not quite sure which way round.
'Lester Stillwell' delivers a minute of respite until it kicks in again with relentless pummelling of every single instrument and the tearing of Jon Weisnewski's larynx. It has occasional flashes of Fugazi in it and a psychedelic swirl which makes it feel like an 'In A Gada Da Vida' for the hardcore generation, especially when the hyper fast guitar solo kicks in on the 8 minute mark. It ends with the bass slowly being strummed and leaving you totally unprepared for the punch in the nuts that is the beginning of 'Rogue' - grumbling bass and space age wah-wah guitar played over a solid beat. And it's not just the beginning that wows you. Throughout its 7 minutes it has enough twists and turns to challenge a rollercoaster, without ever becoming unwieldy or self indulgent (well ok a little self indulgent, but still great!).
A definite highlight has to be 'Great White Bull', with its chopping guitar and bass battling out for supremacy without either ever getting the upper hand. Even in its comparatively short 4.07 it still has more dynamics than some hardcore or Stoner bands get into whole albums. It's a definite triumph and sets us up nicely for the subtle (and long) introduction to the monumental final track 'Jersey Shores'. The finale has definite elements of Shellac's minimalism to its strung out proggy groove before re-entering the maelstrom of ear bleeding noise and earthquake inducing rhythm. It completes the circle as it ends accompanied by the sound of waves lapping gently against the shore.
The album differs from their previous couple which I checked out after hearing 'Jersey Shores'. The previous 'Navigating The Bronze' (2007) and the re-released 'Harshing Your Mellow' (2001 & 2007) were populated by short sharp tracks (with the exception of ‘Navigating’'s 8 minute finale) whereas 'Jersey Shores' has 4 tracks over 7 minutes long. It’s a brave move but one that's been done before by the likes of Black Flag (‘My War’) or even Fucked Up (‘Year Of The Pig’), but that's no slur - they're sharing the same billing as some real big hitters there.
This album is big in length, riffs, dynamics, screaming and attitude. I love it and so will you. Make sure you learn from my mistake - do not miss out with this band.
Top Tracks: 'Great White Bull', ‘Jersey Shores’.
Released 17/11/2008 on Neurot