Slow, Fuzzy Guitars
Austin-bred quartet The Young have managed to land themselves on the same record label as Interpol, Kurt Vile and Pavement—Matador Records. Their previous album Dub Egg was feel-good rock ‘n’ roll, and some thought it had that “sunshine fuzz” sound, but for their next release, Chrome Cactus, things get low and slow.
Take “Slow Death,” for instance. The title sets you up for what you’re about to hear. It’s kind of reminiscent of when Boys Night Out get all slow and sentimental, but not as good. It’s like a song you’d be into ten tequila shots in at the end of the night when you need something in between bar-music loud and lullaby to get you to pass out. But hey, at least the song has a purpose.
Han Zimmerman’s voice has a certain amount of rasp to it that makes it sound kind of cool and sexy, but it doesn’t stand out enough. There are so many lyrics and not a ton happening with the instrumentals, so it ends up being just a bunch of elements not living up to their full potential. While it can be hard to keep up with the lyrics and what he’s saying, it’s pretty easy to make out this line in “Dressed in Black:” “Jesus pulled my hair / Jesus pulled my hair and laughed and cried out my fuckin’ name.” It’s difficult to tell if this is hard to like because of the religion referenced in the lyrics, or if this is just weirdly bad.
Sometimes songs start out so heavy that it begins to feel like you’re back in those bygone hardcore metal listening days and you get a little excited. “Chrome Jamb” starts out this way, but sadly lightens up right away and is slightly disappointing.
It’s hard to like or not like Chrome Cactus. If you’re relaxed and just want to hear lots of slow guitar, you might consider giving it a spin. There’s usually that one go-to song on an album, but unfortunately there’s nothing here like that.
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