aaamusic | On 05, Nov 2012

You can have as much deafening feedback as you want, as many smashed guitars and Metal Machine Music’s as you want, the weirdest songs will always be the ones with an enormous, heaping dose of melody along with its head-fucking hysterics, if you have something that your average listener is used to and is expecting alongside something utterly weird and alien, the juxtaposition makes the record all the more of an uncomfortable listen, especially if the melody is catchy as all hell. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the new single from Brighton based mentalists Bad for Lazarus, which sounds hopelessly confused on the first couple of listens in its shift from jaunty, skipping organ melody, to crushing heaviness through to squalling guitar, organ strikes and what sounds like a drunk brass section, but on multiple hearings the cracks start beginning to close up and form a cohesive, yet still unrecognisable whole, sounding almost like Biffy Clyro doing their best Tom Waits impression in its gritty yet spaced out squall. Needless to say, it’s not for everyone, but it’s for a lot more people than it might sound on paper. Highly recommended.

★★★★★

Will Howard