Review of The Number Twelve Looks Like You - Nuclear. Sad. Nuclear.

If there is a poster child for the love it or hate mentality that plagues extreme music these days, the scarf and corduroy clad noisters are certainly it. And I must be a glutton for punishment for A) continually supporting them, and B) making my support public in a large metal forum such as this where detractors make scald me publicly.

Anyhow, fucking finally after two appetite whetting EP’s, here is the full length debut, quirky title, track names and artwork included. 12 songs, two of them “Like a Cat” and “Clarissa Explains Cuntertainment” lifted from the An Inch of Gold for an Inch of Time EP, and basically if you liked those more melodic, emo leanings, you will like this album.
Starting with the Mediterranean flourish that I can only describe as “Flamenco-core”, “Devils Dick Disaster” is quick to prove that TN12LLY are not about to be pigeonholed as they still deliver the typical spazzed out atonal chaos that the kids love, but what sets TH12LLY apart is not only their technical prowess that delivers flurries of precise notes, but their ability to make chaos sound moderately creative and inviting. Of course the sticking point for most is the adolescent wail of Jesse Corman, even if backed by the ultra deep death throes of Justin Pedrick, they still will grate most. The melodic development of the band as heard early on for “Texas Dolly” and “Clarissa Explains Cuntainment” is a clever addition to their sound. It can only be described a chaotic melody or melodic chaos, as it’s not immediate or catchy but subversively harmonic if still ridiculously frenetic and initially unstructured.

“The Proud Parents Convention Held In The ER” will make most cringe with its barrage of off kilter riffs and stuttering notes, all backed by the glass shattering cries of Jesse Corman, but it does also deliver a solid down tuned growl laden groove in small doses. For me, the epitome of TN12LLY’s ‘new’ sound is “An Aptly Fictional Description” which starts with a delicate jazz segue before unleashing yet more strained angular riffs and blast beats but the song takes an interesting turn halfway where guitarists Jamie McCoy and Alexis Pareja deliver a simply jaw dropping solo that shows how truly talented these annoying to most kids really are before the song lulls away into an ambient haze. After the excellent “Like a Cat” (I won’t rehash it, read my EP review), and the surprisingly haunting instrumental “Remembrance Dialogue”, TN12LLY launch into the quick exhaustive, flailing chaos of “An Exercise In Self-Portraiture: Go Shoot Yourself” then follow it up with the rockin’ “Operating on a Re-Run Episode” that shows TN12LLY can pen straight forward, effective rock riffs. Rhetorically, TN12LLY musically sound like a foaming, epileptic Thursday thrown from a 30 story building and the awkward, disjointed poses they landed in, is allegorically TN12LLY’s music. “Category” closes the album in raucous style with extended use of the cookie cutter growls and somber solos, briefly baring the bands teeth from behind their playfully chaotic guise.

Nuclear. Sad. Nuclear wont give TN12LLY any new fans as they still come across as a group of pretentious, musically ADD drenched emo teens, but jealousy does breed despondency and I think die hard grindcore fans are afraid that this stupidly talented band is barging in on there genre. It will however please current fans, like myself will lap this up. My only minor gripes are the contrived titles, artwork and lyrics and that cries “Hey look how abstract and craaaaaaaaazily scene defying we are” and the slightly muted production that forced me to really crank my stereo to get any real density from the record.

Still, the album doesn’t really surprise or disappoint if you are a fan of the band but it does open up a plethora of possibilities and directions for the next effort from this group of pigeonhole ignoring and skilled youngsters.

Release Details

The Number Twelve Looks Like You

Nuclear. Sad. Nuclear.

Comments

Related