Chickenhawk – A. Or Not? CDEP (Brew Records)
By Jay Snyder
September 5, 2009

The UK is the place to go, when it comes to grating noise-rock. I’ve been reviewing one knockout release after another in the Am-Rep vein from that neck of the woods. From Gorse to Mondo Cada; it’s all been gravy when it is in relation to the UK’s special take on nerve-damaged guitar chords, squalling white noise, dissonant harmony and ragged vocal abrasions.

Latest in the long line of English troublemakers is Chickenhawk, a progressive quartet who take the complex King Crimsonisms of early Today is the Day and more currently The Wayard, nail it to Barkmarket’s rhythmically dense and catchy sonic disambiguation all the while knuckling down on a streetwise, NYC Unsane beatdown! Yep, this unit has everything you could want out of a noise-blasted bombing such as this, and the strength of these tracks, has me salivating to hear the LP that came before it. This is noise-rock that every discerning fan of the genre must hear.

EP title track begins with the dizzying, dual guitar scathe of guitarists Paul Michael and Robert James that guns down on a King Crimson by way of TITD noodling lick that defies any sort of comprehension. It isn’t long before a jazzy beat and twisted, disharmonic noise-pop riffs create an uneasy tension that’s perfectly complemented by the Yow worthy distorted singing and disjointed screaming. Taking an unexpected turn in the chorus, the grizzled Chickenhawks clamp down on a noisy, squealing howl that somehow materializes into a red-blooded, rock n’ roll riff. A very stoned out moment that calls to mind the high-caliber groovin’ present on several of Akimbo’s LPs. Exploding into pure madness thereafter, the band cuts a swath through the listener’s psyche with double-bass inflected metallic curmudgeon and a fistful of solo insanity that’s so completely confounding that I don’t even know how to accurately describe it. Meanwhile drummer Matthew Reid wears his heart on his sleeve, with a performance full of reckless abandon and mad bomber fills. Sometimes the sheer lunacy of the band’s songwriting genius is way beyond my comprehension, but they manage to make it work. There’s never a lack of noise, that’s for damn certain, but they craft their songs with a keen sense of melody, carving cast-iron hooks into a canvas that barely leaves room for them. Yet, somehow the band finds a way to lace them into their material.

For instance, the monolithic wallop of “Son of Cern” stands as the very best noise-rock song I’ve heard in quite sometime. Burning with rage and dripping a DIY punk ethos, the band ride out a lengthy romp of rocked-out riffs, Butthole Surfers’ mangled background noise and larynx abusing vocals. The beauty is in the details though. There’s some killer singing in this track, including a soaring clean wail above a dense, Rebreather enlightened groove preceding the track’s angular melodic finale…meaning the riff/arrangement is heavy as hell, but possesses a shimmering glow that doesn’t limit its appeal to one specific genre. It’s a little bit of doom, a pinch noise-rock and a small smattering of tidal post-rock…yet realized as a whole it is an entity unto itself, sounding unlike anything else out there. Oddly enough the melodic aspects of this track remind me of ex-Helmet shredder Pete Mengede’s Handsome project. You know the one that featured members of Quicksand and recorded one long forgotten little gem of an album. Well, Chickenhawk carry on more than a bit of their underrated spirit in this track, although the aggressive, progg-y nastiness of the Hawk is much heavier and angrier than that band ever was. The guitar, drum and bass deconstructions are far more in the realm of weirdness like TITD, Hammerhead and King Crimson as opposed to Handsome’s dark, poppy indie/metal combo. It is just that somewhere within Chickenhawk’s rough exterior, lurks a mentally skewered sense of harmony and tunefulness that relies as much on careful tenderness as it does boundary decimating technicality. One listen and you’ll know what I mean, but it is not necessarily the easiest sentiment to convey through the old keyboard/hand translation of thoughts.

Closer, “NASA vs. ESA” is the most straightforward of the three bruisers and earns its bread n’ butter with Ryan Thomas’ bass centric, gravity reversing groove that fights to the death with the sludge-y noise-rock riffs, pocket beats, incessant screaming and high-pitched FX drenched yelling. Not as complex as what came before, but equally sturdy in the head smashing department.

I HAVE to hear this band’s full-length debut! Chickenhawk are not only at the top of the UK noise-rock scene, but are in the top running for noise-rock around the world. They’re bringing back that emotional whipping that TITD perfected with Willpower and adding a completely unique touch of their own to the final product. All of this lands A. or Not? in the category of essential purchasing when it comes to all children of the Am-Rep society. This shit is right up there with the current cream of the crop, and I find it popping up in my rotation all of the time, as the EP’s short play time makes it a stellar listen every time I’m deciding on what long player to spin next. If you like noise-rock and don’t buy this…you’re crazy. There is no way on the planet I can see it disappointing a fan of the genre, so make sure you give the band a listen and decide for yourself.

Visit the Brew Records website at www.brewrecords.com