When writing about music it is common to describe a scene or landscape that the album/song conjures up for the listener. I do that often and see it done by many others. In the case of the new album from Leeds’ noise rock heroes Blacklisters, I didn’t have to rely on the music to create this image for me. The last weekend of August brought furious winds through the Puget Sound region in Western Washington. I happened to be brewing beer for my family’s brewery during these storms and Adult was my soundtrack for the day…well at least until the power went out.
To set the stage, the brewery is a 200 square foot shed in the backyard of my parent’s house. It is surrounded by massive douglas firs. The wind was getting in excess of 50 miles per hour. The rain and sun were off and on due to the clouds scampering across the confusing sky. Branches were more like spears and walking from the brewery to the house was more like an Indiana Jones movie than anything else. I witnessed two trees collapse and the smaller of the two was easily 60 feet tall. It was an uncomfortable experience with the sound of the winds shaking the trees alone, but adding the sounds of Blacklisters at max volume made it uncomfortable X 10.
Handshake Inc. is not a “noise rock label”. They do video production as well as put out records of many genres but all hard as hell. That being said, they have released two of my favorite noise rock albums of the last few years. Couch Slut in 2014 and now Blacklisters in 2015. Adult will forever bring me back to real images experienced while listening to it during this storm. Their ferocious delivery on “Knock Myself Out” will always remind me of standing on a step ladder and stirring in grains while hoping my head wouldn’t get squished by a tree. The hypnotic and spaced out “Big Ticker” brings flashbacks of shoveling mud to clear the blocked drain in the woods.
“Weasel Bastard” was echoing throughout the yard while carrying buckets of spent grains and dodging debris. The funny part about this is I may have ended up imagining this sort of a scene if I was listening to Adult in the comfort of my own home with my Bose headphones on and eyes closed. It is that sort of destructive energy that these dudes create. If you are a fan of noise rock in any form you NEED to have this album. You can pre-order a “clockwork orange” vinyl (limited to 300) over here –> Blacklisters – Adult
Blacklisters will release their minimalist noise rock masterpiece Adult via Smalltown America (UK) in September.
US/Canadian release set for October 16th via Handshake, Inc (vinyl+digital) and Exploding In Sound Records (cassette)
Rating: 4.75/5