Hawg Jaw
Don't Trust Nobody
6
Synopsis:
What better way to celebrate the victorious, official re-opening of New Orleans, than by choking down some dirty, sludgy sloppy N’Awlins metal from a member of Eyehategod...
Review:
Formed by Eyehategod’s Gary Meder in 1996 and with two obscure prior albums under their belt, Hawg Jaw seems to be ‘the other’ sludgy, discordant band from New Orleans and while a little less grating and more tangibly Southern than Eyehategod or even Soilent Green, Hawg Jaw’s lazy, swampy, form of feedback laden, raucous sludge rock is just as competent.
With a mouthful of chew and whiskey, Mike Dares hoarsely shouts and rants like a defiant pissed off New Orleans resident shooting at looters in his yard while Meder’s salty guitars lope and sway with a hazy, palpable scent of sewage, sweat and vitriol. The mid paced, staggering gait of the material is pretty consistent throughout the 13 tracks with a few forays into slower, even stodgier territory (“Worse Case”, “Baitin’ the traps”, “Amongst the Vultures”) here and there and a few punky bursts of drunken energy (“Stranger in the Window”, “Torn Apart”, “Derailed”, “Devein”, “I Take That Back”).
The thing is, despite its gritty, muggy tones, Don’t Trust Nobody is hugely disposable and forgettable once the last squealing, reverb filled riff ends. Despite my affinity for everything New Orleans, like eating at the ass blasting restaurant that is Mothers, there’s no reason to give it another go after one visit.
