White Belt In Blogging

I think it's great when bands adopt misleading or at least non-generic band names. The only problem is, I rarely ever check them out... because of their names. As fortune would have it, Justin from Same-Sex Dictator introduced me to his band by sending me rips of their awesome split with Requin and permission to post. S-SD appear here as a two piece showcasing a penetrating bass sound with just enough distortion to assert its commanding role without being too abrasive. Song-writing-wise, the band is a reunion with your old crush, but she's different now, and the novelty excites you: the throbbing, crawling pace of your favorite sludge bands, the bursting frenetic fits of a few noise rock legends, but sounding not quite like anything yet in your collection. But maybe "Eight: From Meal To Bait" is more grand and universal, laying out the ancient, cyclical war between our desire for precision and harmony, and our uncontrollable tendency toward entropy and violence, with each listen crowning a different winner. And trust me, repeat listens are inevitable.

Requin are yet another reason to look to the Northwest for rock that ain't your grandpa's grunge. These guys skip most of the contemplation and shoot for a mainly primal approach with regard to tempos. The proggy, noodly fret board action however, prods deep into the cerebrum, as do the drums which keep up beautifully with the breakneck pace. And the vocals: No high pitch screaming, no forced guttural grunting; not even a grungy croon. Just good, raw, throaty yelling! This is yet another solid and original band to bookmark from the mad, musical laboratory that is Seattle.

You can get this very limited 7" from S-SD or perhaps Crucial Blast's webstore. It was recorded this year, so if you like what you hear, you can probably expect each bands' next releases to be similar. In my opinion, that's a good reason to get stoked.

The Same-Sex Dictator/Requin split 7" (320 digital rips)