END OF LEVEL BOSS
Inside the Difference Engine
(Exile On Mainstream)

ISOLE
Bliss of Solitude
(Napalm)

ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE
& THE MELTING PARAISO U.F.O
Nam Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo
(Ace Fu)

O'DEATH
Head Home
(Ernest Jenning)

TRAP THEM
Seance Prime
(Deathwish)

DYSRHYTHMIA/ROTHKO
Fractures 

(Acerbic Noise Development)

THE FIRE THE FLOOD
Truth Seekers

(No Sleep)

MORE REVIEWS

Considered the band’s first real full length The Jonbenet’s new disc Ugly/Heartless could be the brand new definition of spastic and pummeling. Especially the first two tracks (“Devils” and “Eating Lighting Pt.II”), which somehow manage to find their way through complicated mazes and constant hectic changes to certain coherent goal.  Their previous output The Plot Thickens was seriously auspicious, yet by being formed by compiling two separate recordings it made for a somewhat uneven affair.  This new recording shows a band that has not so much polished its chops, as it has rubbed itself against a raspy surface and has come out way jagged. For those worried about hearing a bestial band grow old and cold, worry no more as none of the aggressiveness shown before by The Jonbenet has been placed in the backburner.  The rage of these four fellas is palpable; their eclecticism though clearly entrenched in the screamo field, frequently shows up through tracks that continuously change paths but never forget that it’s all about the violence. Fifth track “Love is a Dog From Hell”, certainly titled after the Bukowski poem, shows a somewhat milder side to these Texans; yet what in this case could be considered their grown-up tune, could in the hands of a mellower group represent the incarnation of the devil himself.   

One reason why these dudes are doing things right and their records don’t grow boring is the fact that they know how to leave the listener craving for more; it is not so much about satisfying a need, as much as it is about quenching it for a while only to make you crave it more when it’s taken away. And so Ugly/Heartless goes, jerking from track to track without the fan ever noticing it, these tracks could be spliced together, and to a degree they are the work of a band full of patches. But times have changed and a mess like this can be praised when heard from the right perspective. The vocals of Michael Murland are quite raw, he not so much sings as yells, screams and strangulates his lungs. Even when the band goes quiet this dude’s one-track throat remains brutal, threatening and in your face. The guitar of Dann Miller flashes by dozens of riffs that are broken and taken apart in a random manner; it’s quite the chaotic affair, but paired with quality timing the catchy riff here and there and the awesome heard-it-before immediacy of a track like “Zeppelin” makes for one promising double whopper of a record.

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