5 out of 5

Label: Acerbic Noise Development

Producer: Thomas Ralston

I have no words to describe this.  It’s a bit spazzy, but it’s not so wackadoo genre skipping as early Tub Ring or anything, more firmly rooted in the hardcore stylings of label AND.  I’d tell you that it does a bit of the fast-paced guitar / keyboard mash of bands like Dillinger Escape or Mars Volta, but I’m not familiar enough with those bands to say for sure.  Malamute’s vocalist threatens to slip into emo at moments, but let that not mislead you – from the Evening-ish orchestral-style lead-in (without the orchestra) to the second track’s instantly fecking awesome 7-minute freakout of keys and guitar and bass and drumming – Malamute are on a different plane.  It’s one of those feelings where it’s so god damn awesome that you hold your breath, not wanting to let yourself start to rock out for fear of missing the next unbelievable moment.  It’s so insanely appealing and high energy that it threatens to fall apart… and almost does.  The lyrics hover right on a tricky line of critical and whiny, just as the singer brings himself back from emo yelpy with every shriek above a keyboard / guitar flambe, but when the band tries to slow it down on the title track – which is a wise decision, after 4 6+ minute tracks of intense, nigh non-stop energy – the stripped down version of the sound lumbers dangerously close to Saddle Creek bullshit.  Thankfully they weird it up by mixing in some horns, and though followup track Cinéma Vérité still doesn’t rock quite as spasmodically as what’s come before, more in the traditional emo-punk vein, actually, closer Eckhart wipes away every goddamn lingering concern I have by blowing my pants off with an amazing keyboard crescendo.

And when it begins on track one again, I find myself lacking an appropriate way to describe how badass it all is.  The AND label ended on an unbelievably high note with this release, I just wish I could track down where this band went.