By chewing the rulebook up and projectile vomiting it onto its dissenters, the Blood Brothers' album was an adverse reaction to the close-mindedness of the Seattle punk scene.
Formed initially as a side project in 1997, the Blood Brothers blends high-pitched pop vocals with obscurely mellow beats that suddenly delve into hard-edged metal riffs.
Crimes attempts to manifest itself as a chaotically nihilistic kick in the eye for the multitude of bands that are content to write dull, consumer-friendly love songs.
Crimes' initial offensiveness on the eardrums turns into its charm.
The Blood Brothers certainly resists classification. The band is at times metal, in parts stoner rock, sometimes garage punk - but ultimately ear-splitting.
"Feed Me to the Forest" is an electric opening to the album. It transcends a moody seesawing bassline for a thrash-punk style chorus.
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The first single, "Trash Flavored Trash," follows instantly without a break. The track is a frenzied powder-keg ode to the allegedly fair and balanced TV news channels.
The final song, "Devastator," begins with an eerie chain-gang style blues tune and climaxes in a bloody cacophony of raw riffs.
The Blood Brothers can be extremely serene at points, such as the tender "Love Rhymes with Hideous Car Wrecks," but its potential explosiveness always lurks subliminally under the melody.
The piano-driven ballad "Live at the Execution" is especially melancholic and would not be out of place in a dimly lit smoky jazz lounge. The vocal oddity works to convey a clawing feeling of desperation.
The high-pitched screaming of Jordan Billie sounds positively feminine but evokes sympathy through the vocals, which seem on the edge of sanity. His guttural shrieking comes across as assertive yet fragile, evocative of Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Keyboardist Johnny Whitney provides an underscore to the anarchic lead singer with his stable, nasally backing vocals. The resulting contrast works effectively to create an intriguing combination.
Crimes will definitely not be accessible to all. Those accustomed to indie music may not be able to get their head around the spleen-venting, harsh choruses. Metal and hardcore punk enthusiasts will enjoy this offering, purely because they are more likely able to digest the aural abrasiveness of it.
More than a handful of bona fide songs on the album are arresting. Unfortunately, the rest of the tracks merge into the same long and laborious outlet of screeching venom.
Crimes is a bit too much of the same thing. Nonetheless, the band's unusual approach deserves appraisal.
The Blood Brothers will play at the Launchpad on Feb. 18.
Crimes
Blood Brothers
Grade B
