Mon 13th January 2014
Split records still hold a tangible thrill, a sense of the different and exciting that catch your eye as you peruse your vinyl or CD collections. There have been some superb pairings in recent years, with love instilled into each project, and this feels the same.
London based Sky:Lark take the A side with three quick blasts of post hardcore. It's all over the place, skillfully controlled to sound like it's wildly improvised - songs destruct before having a chance to get going, only to be reconstructed, and like all DIY, something has been left out or added, the ending sounding strangely the same but different. Sky:Lark are new on me, and while they're musical stylings aren't usually my thing, they sound fresh and interesting.
Suffolk's Meadows are one of the most captivating of the new wave of UK heaviness, welding together and borrowing from all varieties of metal, with vigour, attack and verve. Super Thunder Blade encapsulates this consummately, emblazoning all of their beguiling craft in 80 exhilarating seconds of detonation and noise. It begins resembling the Dead Kennedys, kicks into fast hardcore, has a five second grindcore interlude blast half way through before resuming it's punk-sludge riff smash and grab raid. Their second track I Am Stone Head is slower fair; hardcore mixed with a subtle stoner rock undercurrent, again flitting between styles and distinct sections to keep you on your toes.
Wonderful artwork, two vibrant UK bands, the most thrilling 1 minute 20 you'll experience in all of 2014, released on the superlative Superfi Records - go forth and invest.
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