E – Negative Work

Crazy post-punk energy

Recorded in just four days, E’s Negative Work is a tension-filled album that doesn’t waste any time. This is the second release from the group, and hopefully, it won’t be the last. The trio of Jason Sidney Sanford (Neptune), Thalia Zedek (Come, Uzi, Live Skull) and Gavin McCarthy is one that has produced an album full of experimentation and angry energy distilled into a fine post punk essence. Every minute and every song is in your face and is worth listening to and engaging with.

On the album’s opener, “Pennies,” distorted guitars crackle and kick the album off in a major way before transitioning into the strong point of the song that is Zedek’s wonderful vocals. Working perfectly with the wild guitars and noisy percussion, Zedek’s performance is a showcase for how the more traditional parts of E combine with their wild side. The band follows a similar formula on “Poison Letter,” with Zedek once again leading the charge. Paired again with crazy guitar and percussion, Zedek’s performance soars and builds to an epic finish. This whole album is filled with similar songs and ideas, with bombastic songs building and building to wonderful finishes. On the album’s closer, Zedek intones the biting message “When your idols are empty, you fill them with anything.” There is very little room for hope on this album, yet it is cathartic in both the delivery and the palpable frustration throughout.

Filled with heavy messages and sounds throughout the album, Negative Work engages the listener all the way through. The group is wonderfully on-message and their focus pays off bigtime. E is masterful at crafting songs, and it’s on full display in this album. That, plus their crazy energy, is a recipe for this great punk album from a band full of promise.