Reviews

These Are Powers

CMJ - 2009-02-02

Sweat-soaked off their late-2007 release, Terrific Seasons (Hoss), Brooklyn's trembling post-punk trio These Are Powers spurt out another hot mess on their supplemental EP, Taro Tarot (Hoss). From the get-go, the record lurches forward with a disjointed war drum that ominously rumbles from the heart of some perilous darkness on "All Night Services." Pat Noecker (ex-Liars) lends a tinge of comfort in the wake of so much hopelessness and despair, finding new ways to shout a whispered secret despite the blight unraveling before him. While known for their physically demanding live shows and startling polyrhythm contortions, the trio is best understood through a volume-up approach. Even with your headphones mashed to your skull, you'll have trouble fully experiencing the waves of punishing subsonic bass and underlying knee-buckling. At times, stand-out track "Chipping Ice" sounds like industrial waste on the march, as its repetitive bassline advances with rank-and-file left-left-left-right-left cadence. Tandem howls by Noecker and guitarist Anna Barie recall a jackal's acknowledgment of the Fall recapitulated. The 20-something-minute runtime makes this EP seem like a full-length, but, then again, the sound of an impending apocalypse is usually pretty grueling.