4 out of 5

Label: Auris Apothecary

Produced by: Mike Notaro (instruments, recorded and mixed by, vocals recorded by the band)

How much can you accomplish in three songs… at less than two minutes total? Quite a bit?

There’s certainly a whole scene out there of folks thrashing it up as fast as they can, and that’s not exactly Humans’ shtick. Yes, there’s complex guitar work and absolute kit smashery (and shouty vocals), but as opposed to necessarily playing everything at blazing speed, the trio do a math-punk thing, “simply” shaving off everything except for the exact verse and chorus you need.

Obsolete Medicine is this, given a delightfully fuzzy recording and put onto a floppy disc – ’cause why not – via label Auris Apothecary’s multi-format madness. But it feels fitting for this all-pistons-firing style of music, and the DIY vibe gets a nice kick in the pants when it turns out Humans can, indeed, bring it, doing Microwave-esque guitar lines and grindcore-quick drumming, and some enthusiastic yelling atop. I’m only docking a star because last track ‘Choke’ feels more like a code than a song, and what can I say: with only three tracks, I want each of them maximized.