4 out of 5

Label: New Tongues, Expert Work Records

Produced by: Daniel Ruder (recorded and mixed by)

Four tracks of sturm and drang from midwest trio New Tongues, packing a lot of noise into their noise-rock.

Taking a page from June of 44, New Tongues’ tracks on Suite tend to focus on repetition, but that group’s occasional hardcore leanings are amped up with a Killing Joke-esque rumble, and Nick Sakes-y shout-sung vocals. With the latter, when the aim is just to repeat a phrase or words, it’s maybe a little unnecessary; final tune El Condor Pasa is a more layered take on this style, and the most expansive song of the set.

Which isn’t to say the other three aren’t quality, just a different approach: pummel; pummel; pummel. It’s a damn good pummel, stretching tracks to 6+ minutes and leaving a lot of room for organic wiggle, making the repetition feel like breaths being taken at different intensities – deep, short, etc. – instead of just looping the music. Another interesting nuance is the depth of the noise: you can see in the credits listing electronics and samples, when a passive listen may just suggest bass, guitar, and drums. This, again, is responsible for keeping the compositions feeling vital throughout, as there’s so much going on in order to keep the chaos “on rails.”

Very visceral stuff.