Sick Thoughts – Fat Kid With A 10-inch (2014) Review
Sick Thoughts “Fat Kid With A 10-inch” (Black Gladiator/Slovenly Records, 2014)
Drew Owen has been perfecting his craft with release after
release over the past few years and I’ve still yet to cop anything that isn’t
just jaw-dropping. His latest offering
is the aptly titled Fat Kid with a 10-inch for Black Gladiator is no exception and
backed by a motley crew of musicians to fill out the lo-fidelity wall of hiss
and distortion that typify their sound Owen is striking back hard. Never one to leave listeners hanging Sick
Thoughts kick things off with the snarling “Try Not To”, one of the most
accessible songs I’ve heard from the Sick Thoughts camp so far. There’s a current of late 70s early 80s
proto-punk running through the veins of the song like a vein of gold weaving
and winding through miles of hidden caverns.
There’s no need for pick axes here though, Owen and company literally
decimate the mountain that surrounds them, leveling the towers of stone and
sand in an explosion of chaotic distortion and insanity. Bleeding into “Somewhere In My Heart” you
know you’re listening to a Sick Thoughts album for sure at this point. “Somewhere In My Heart” clocks in at less
than a minute and it still manages to pack enough punch to knock you flat on
your ass and leave you wondering just how it is that Sick Thoughts are able to
create as much sound and fury in fifty seconds and most bands can muster in as
many minutes! I could get into a bunch
of name dropping to try and convey the way that “Frustrated” sounds but it
would be a futile effort, there’s some serious Reatards’ era Jay going on, but
it’s tempered by the unique voice that Owen has managed to carve out for
himself in the past few years of non-stop releases and recording. “Cream” might just be my favorite song on the
album. Blasting out of the gate like a
rocket ship with decimating fuzz bass, the vocals are perfectly crunchy here,
the guitar and drums melting into a palpable, chest thundering baseball bat to
the kneecaps. “Cream” is a perfect
example of the refining and exploration that have taken place in the band over
the past two years. The production value
here is a shinning example of why I love Owen’s style so much. There’s no way you could get a clean
recording to sound this in-your-face or aggressive without a bunch of tricks
and overdubs that would just muddy stuff up and sounding fake as shit. Sick Thoughts are capable of summoning the
fury of the thunder god in a single two-minute swing of a sledgehammer with
ease though. “I Want To Be Me” opens up
the b-side of the album like the maw of a starving giant blown out of his skull
on PCP. Flailing arms and chattering
lyrics bounce off of the cobblestone beneath his feet like the bones and flesh
of any unfortunate enough to accidentally wander into his reach. “Don’t Want You Around” could possibly be the
coolest thing that Sick Thoughts have ever released… Walking a tightrope between tight garage
psychedelia and out and out punk noise “Don’t Want You Around” just screams to
get released as a single, a minute and thirty seconds of absolutely mind
obliterating psychedelic punk majesty.
“Don’t Want You Around” is lighting in a bottle man, a moment perfectly
captured, pressed and then shared with the world for posterity’s sake, and
thank god, or is it perhaps Satan we should be thanking for that!?! “On The Streets Where You Live” drags your
right back into the fray, battering your senses with waves of crackling,
hissing, fuzz and distortion. Starting
with audible lyrics before completely devolving into tortured screams that
actually sound painful, Sick Thoughts usher in the closing track “I Ain’t Done
With You”. An amalgamate of danceable
glamour that turns on it’s heels and becomes an utterly face-melting ball of
fire, “I Ain’t Done With You” is Sick Thoughts way of sending off the album
with as much power as they can muster.
The lyrics again breakdown and degrade until they’re a single howling
beam of fear and loathing, you can literally hear a gagging sound as the album
ends from the guttural expulsion tearing his throat out, not with a bang but
with a gag, as fitting a way as any I can think of to see this twisted
masterpiece off into the sunset. I’m not
sure what Sick Thoughts have planned as far as releases go in the new year, but
if Fat Kid with a 10-inch is an indicator of what they’re growing in to, you
can sign me up!
release over the past few years and I’ve still yet to cop anything that isn’t
just jaw-dropping. His latest offering
is the aptly titled Fat Kid with a 10-inch for Black Gladiator is no exception and
backed by a motley crew of musicians to fill out the lo-fidelity wall of hiss
and distortion that typify their sound Owen is striking back hard. Never one to leave listeners hanging Sick
Thoughts kick things off with the snarling “Try Not To”, one of the most
accessible songs I’ve heard from the Sick Thoughts camp so far. There’s a current of late 70s early 80s
proto-punk running through the veins of the song like a vein of gold weaving
and winding through miles of hidden caverns.
There’s no need for pick axes here though, Owen and company literally
decimate the mountain that surrounds them, leveling the towers of stone and
sand in an explosion of chaotic distortion and insanity. Bleeding into “Somewhere In My Heart” you
know you’re listening to a Sick Thoughts album for sure at this point. “Somewhere In My Heart” clocks in at less
than a minute and it still manages to pack enough punch to knock you flat on
your ass and leave you wondering just how it is that Sick Thoughts are able to
create as much sound and fury in fifty seconds and most bands can muster in as
many minutes! I could get into a bunch
of name dropping to try and convey the way that “Frustrated” sounds but it
would be a futile effort, there’s some serious Reatards’ era Jay going on, but
it’s tempered by the unique voice that Owen has managed to carve out for
himself in the past few years of non-stop releases and recording. “Cream” might just be my favorite song on the
album. Blasting out of the gate like a
rocket ship with decimating fuzz bass, the vocals are perfectly crunchy here,
the guitar and drums melting into a palpable, chest thundering baseball bat to
the kneecaps. “Cream” is a perfect
example of the refining and exploration that have taken place in the band over
the past two years. The production value
here is a shinning example of why I love Owen’s style so much. There’s no way you could get a clean
recording to sound this in-your-face or aggressive without a bunch of tricks
and overdubs that would just muddy stuff up and sounding fake as shit. Sick Thoughts are capable of summoning the
fury of the thunder god in a single two-minute swing of a sledgehammer with
ease though. “I Want To Be Me” opens up
the b-side of the album like the maw of a starving giant blown out of his skull
on PCP. Flailing arms and chattering
lyrics bounce off of the cobblestone beneath his feet like the bones and flesh
of any unfortunate enough to accidentally wander into his reach. “Don’t Want You Around” could possibly be the
coolest thing that Sick Thoughts have ever released… Walking a tightrope between tight garage
psychedelia and out and out punk noise “Don’t Want You Around” just screams to
get released as a single, a minute and thirty seconds of absolutely mind
obliterating psychedelic punk majesty.
“Don’t Want You Around” is lighting in a bottle man, a moment perfectly
captured, pressed and then shared with the world for posterity’s sake, and
thank god, or is it perhaps Satan we should be thanking for that!?! “On The Streets Where You Live” drags your
right back into the fray, battering your senses with waves of crackling,
hissing, fuzz and distortion. Starting
with audible lyrics before completely devolving into tortured screams that
actually sound painful, Sick Thoughts usher in the closing track “I Ain’t Done
With You”. An amalgamate of danceable
glamour that turns on it’s heels and becomes an utterly face-melting ball of
fire, “I Ain’t Done With You” is Sick Thoughts way of sending off the album
with as much power as they can muster.
The lyrics again breakdown and degrade until they’re a single howling
beam of fear and loathing, you can literally hear a gagging sound as the album
ends from the guttural expulsion tearing his throat out, not with a bang but
with a gag, as fitting a way as any I can think of to see this twisted
masterpiece off into the sunset. I’m not
sure what Sick Thoughts have planned as far as releases go in the new year, but
if Fat Kid with a 10-inch is an indicator of what they’re growing in to, you
can sign me up!
– Buy it
here:
http://slovenly.com/store/black-gladiator/sick-thoughts-fat-kid-with-a-10inch-10-ep.html
here:
http://slovenly.com/store/black-gladiator/sick-thoughts-fat-kid-with-a-10inch-10-ep.html
Review made by Roman Rathert/2015
© Copyright http://psychedelicbaby.blogspot.com/2015
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