Untitled Document

This seven-song record is one of the more worthwhile heavy-discord, fast-moving, punk-sludge releases of late. Occasionally this Glasgow band steals heavily from Girls Against Boys, evident in the vocal outbursts and grindcore intensity of "Rusty's Arms" (which also contains some Big Black-like squealing). There's a Southern rock devilishness on some other songs ("A Horse Can Walk") and the Volcano Suns would be punched pink by Macrocosmica's shouty vocal style, railroading toms and harshly ruffled chords on "Orbit 48". But Macrocosmica, which is the new creative outlet for guitarist/singer Brendan O'Hare (Mogwai, ex-Teenage Fanclub drummer), is able to take such scratchy, abrasive guitar elements and stitch them up in a way that seems young and freshly raunchy again. The band has a knack for making larger-than-life guitars even larger and more powerful, no matter if the mood is wretchedly hateful or sadly beautiful. Not all songs here kick out the riffs with corrosive joy: most of "I Am The Spaceship Digitalis" is so hopeless and utterly depressing that it must have been written with 2001's HAL in mind. But that just makes the loud, frayed edges all the more exhilarating.
Gina Brittner