Triclops!
Cafeteria Brutalia
Sickroom
Sometimes I worry about how far left-field my sense of aesthetics has gone. In the press release for Triclops!’ Cafeteria Brutalia, an early review for the disc says the band’s aim is “to keep rock music uncomfortable for themselves and others.” Of course, I didn’t read this statement until after I’d listened to the EP twice and had a small number of “this is nice” thoughts. Still, I can see how this music, in the ears of someone who hasn’t been conditioned over the years to love loud experimental music, might produce an extreme reaction.
The group scours all facets of the hard rock spectrum, welding together pieces of noise, cock-rock attitude and hardcore flailing to produce the howling offspring of cross-genre punk. There’s a definite madness piloting the band’s ship; there’s really no other way to explain the forays into progressive and space rock that act like guerrilla punctuation in their stream-of-consciousness compositions. The short-lived delving down more even-tempered passages and the echoing melodies on “Mi Plisboy” and the 10-minute, all-inclusive “Bug Bomb” are the biggest eyebrow-raisers.
Although they’re worthy of it, Triclops! will likely never reach the levels of fame the increasingly obnoxious Blood Brothers have attained. Maybe they’re too weird, maybe they’re not weird enough –my gauge for that distinction is broken at this point. They’re worth checking out regardless as long as “abrasive” as a musical descriptive term isn’t a complete turn-off for you.
Triclops!: http://www.triclopsband.com
