Though Travølta’s new release In Tinnitus We Crust will have any die-hard fan of d-beat, crust, fastcore, grindcore, and powerviolence drumming their steering wheel into oncoming traffic, this release shows them as worthy bearers of the mincecore torch, originally lit by their Belgian forebears, Agathocles. The production is no-nonsense. Raw. Honest. You hear every instrument in its real form, giving this LP an intimate, live feel, as if you’re a fly on the wall of the band’s rehearsal space. Travølta manages to find that rare balance of fun and fury by clearly loving what they do and by having a legitimate bone to pick with the world at large. Pissed off and unafraid to piss others off, they wear their politics on their sleeves, speaking out against prejudice in all its forms and doing so with Nico’s genuine, screaming rage.
Along with cleverly placed samples (including one from Doug Stanhope, which made this Arizona boy proud), Travølta’s tempo changes bring the violence to this record, and they are perfectly calibrated for a street riot. Rik’s blast-beat clashes give way to the persistent, intentional rhythm of slow marching, and then to the explosions of bricks through windows. The punchiness of Kevin’s bass sounds like early punk, like The Stooges, Minutemen, or The Clash if they had to keep at pace with Niels’ furious right hand, which alternates between fast-picked riffing and chunky, punch-a-hole-in-your-local-racist power chords.
Co-released with a bunch of fine labels.
This product was added to our catalog on Thursday 19 March, 2020.
