5 out of 5

Label: Rock Action Records

Produced by: Westminster Brown (recorded by)

I have several Part Chimp records in my collection. They are a hard, noisy rock bank, and I like hard, noisy rock, but thus to the extent that i own quite a bit, and don’t always have time to listen to it. And since I discovered Part Chimp quite late in my music listening career – or at least past the formative stage – I didn’t get that “burn in” time with their records, during which you only own like ten things (okay, this is probably tied to a non-digital experience as well), and you listen to them again, and again.

In short: I always guiltily forget about Part Chimp. And in that hazy memory, they’re just, like, another hard, noisy rock band. Then I listen to Part Chimp, and I wonder how I could possibly forget: that unlike a lot of their peers, PC do not do one thing exceedingly well – a habit that makes a lot of albums good, but kind of blend together – but rather spread their rollicking, mean sound out in various directions, while always linked to a distinctive grittiness. So on this three song set, we get “pure” Chimp on the title track opener – heavy as sin; catchy as heck; dense and accessible; metal and pop bundled together – a short and raw punk rocker; and an extended ambient jam, edgy at its edges and atmospherically crawling along a tense, drawled riff throughout.

These are all sounds we’ve admittedly heard before, but the passion PC brings to them, alongside the ability to keep the sounds in sync, is always impressive.

I’ll never forget you again, PC.