Black Bug's S/T

Rating: 82

Track List:

1. Razor Face

2. Well Well

3. Run

4. Mental Ray

5. Inside Out

6. The Wave

7. I’ve Got Eyes

8. Unicorn

9. Billy Montana

10. S.R.A.

11. Beating Your Heart Out

12. Untergang

13. Make Her

14. Fall in Love With

15. Absorbing Hearts

When I recommended the chick punk outfit Vivian Girls to my girlfriend, her insightfully pithy reply was “does punk even exist anymore?” Aside from reaffirming my admiration, this question really made me think. For such an inherently anti-label label as punk, what does it really mean to be “punk” in this day and age? Thinking about this conundrum from a different perspective, it’s pretty comparable to modern art. In the heyday of punk, or say, the Dadaist art movement, there was legitimate potential for a counter-culture to develop. But now it’s 2010 and pretty much anything that can arguably be considered culture has been countered. Although really, waxing philosophical is probably altogether the wrong approach to punk. So on to the subject at hand, Black Bug’s debut. Whether you call it punk, post-punk, post-post-punk, or art punk (as I see it), the resulting LP is pretty compelling. To me, pure punk is a group’s utter lack of encumbrance with the popular hang-ups like what their particular brand of noise sounds like or how it is received. In short, this is not that.

My vote is for art-punk for little more reason than the artfully poor production. The pointedly crass disposition of the album feels a little frenetic at first pass, but seamless transitions are not always the best course to successful album flow. Especially when considering the tracks closer to the borderline of unpleasantness, the latent benefits of the construction of the album come to bear. The buzz saw quality of the synth on tracks like “Unicorn” and “Beating Your Heart Out” would be pretty unbearable without the mercurial deviations between each track. “Mental Ray” at a little over two minutes is as long as any of these little studies in the dark side of melody lasts. The whole album clocks in under half an hour, showcasing this Swedish duo’s impressive grasp of the fundamentals of not only punk, but entertainment in general. Don’t wear out your welcome (right, Ian Curtis?) and always leave the audience wanting more.

Officially, the duo is comprised of synth and drums, but it really sounds more like a drum and bass duo along the lines of Death From Above 1979, or maybe they’re more like The Mates of States’ evil twins. Lily’s synth is just as versatile as Kori Gardner’s keys, just with a penchant for malice and destruction. From droning along in hazy exaltation, as in “Fell in Love With,” to the comparatively sprightly cadence of “The Wave,” Lily spins what could easily be depressing into truly fascinating. The erratic synth and the curious about faces like the most decidedly post-punk track “Inside Out” stuck between two of the album’s (dare I say charming?) instrumentals is enough to keep this band out of the muck and mire from whence they emerged.

As much praise as I can heap on this engagingly compact LP, it’s certainly not for everyone. For starters, be prepared for the tragically less hip (and probably better adjusted) rightfully shouting at you to turn that racket down. There really aren’t any standout tracks to be readily dog-eared, it’s really more about the experience. The upside is, it’s not just noise for the sake of noise. So go ahead, wear that disdain like a badge of honor – because if you can put forth the necessary effort that this LP deserves, you deserve it.