Tuesday, December 22, 2009

G&P Review: Looking for an Answer

Looking for an Answer
La Caceria

Relapse
Well Helen Keller should have seen this coming. Spain’s Looking for an Answer are practically custom built for Relapse, wielding a bludgeoning brand of grindcore that doesn’t scrimp on the soft tissue trauma. Extincion was easily a highlight of 2008, but now the band has dropped a 7-inch with four new songs (one being a Repulsion cover) on us courtesy of Relapse’s dime and many tentacled distribution muscle that should maybe shove Looking for an Answer under a few more of the right noses.
For all the cash at Relapse’s disposal, La Caceria is actually rougher and more sepulchral than Extincion, which isn’t a bad thing. “Estandarte de Huesos” heaves out of the grave to chew over the politics of the day and possibly your left femur, if you’re not using it. “Supremacia Etica” starts with those snappy cymbal clutches that practically defined early Napalm Death and for which I’m still a sucker. The rest of the song is a high impact cardio routine played on fast forward while being stalked by ominous blasts of perverted bass. That grisly bass grist mill is also the star of the more down dynamic (read: some slower parts) “La Peste Roja,” which sounds absolutely filthy, like these bunny hugging crusaders have been wallowing in slop with the hogs they’d rather you not eat. All of this bass focus makes perfect sense when Looking for an Answer exhumes and reanimates Repulsion’s “Driven to Insanity” as their closer, perfectly aping Scott Carlson’s festering settings, complete with bone saw guitar solo.
This slim tasting platter is a perfect sampler for anybody who hasn’t had the joy of one of grindcore’s rising stars.
Oh, and those homonivorous minotaurs on the awesome, charcoal toned album art? They just want you to know that, no, you cannot has cheezburger.

1 comment:

Bill Willingham IV, Esquire said...

It's nice that there is a label like Relapse that is large enough to pay for good distribution but won't make a band clean itself up too much.

I'll be checking this out soon. The review had me interested, and then I saw the album art. I just have to hear the noise behind that rad cover!