Ducks Battle Satan

There are only a few records in my collection that astonish me everytime I play them. Sonic Youth’s Sister is on the list, so are Pussy Galore’s Dial M for Motherfucker and Big Black’s Atomizer. The Dream Syndicate’s Days of Wine and Roses, Mogwai’s Young Team, Public Enemy’s Fear of a Black Planet, The Cramps’ Smell of Female, PJ Harvey’s Dry and Sunno)))’s White 2 are also worthy. This list just got a little bigger after grappling with Birchville Cat Motel’s opus from 2006. I mean, seriously, holy shit.

I’ve said it before I really like this whole transcendence through noise thing, I really do, but few bands can make their noise rock this hard. I’ve written before that I find what Birchville Cat Motel does strangely beautiful. Well, as beautiful as sound can get whilst inducing seizures. On Our Love Can Destroy the World the noise is less beautiful yet somehow more satisfying. I think it’s a record that satisfies the secret rock pig within me. Here we have guitars – lots and lots of guitars. 55000 Flowers for the Hero is the defining track, sixteen minutes of the most majestic guitar based experimental noise you’re likely to hear. Guitars dominate, playing the same blissed out psychedelic, freak-out riffs for eternity. Feedback squalls underneath and the constant drone props it all up up. When this track starts I never want it to end. It’s followed by a short lilting clarinet meditation, Lay Thy Hatred Down, which repeats the same phrase over and over while a black swarm of flies can be heard in the distance. The next track Double Cascade Mini Fantasy is a relatively short track that highlights church organ being played backwards whilst ominous drones whisper underneath. Finally we have the title track a stunning experimental kraut-rock stonker which slowly evolves with some pretty evil sounds in its later half. Is that a student demonstration I hear under the strange, churning Spaceman 3 like effects? Fuck, these truly are the sounds of psychosis.

At the moment I can’t get enough of this record. They’re releasing something new in November. I for one can’t fucking wait.

This entry was posted on October 29, 2007 at 11:55 am and is filed under Birchville Cat Motel, Music, New Zealand Bands, noise. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.