Noisy, aggressive and austere, Them Wolves have risen through heady company.
Having gigged with the likes of Trash Talk, Wet Nuns and the ever-reliable 65daysofstatic, this record sees them taking matters truly into their own hands. Released on It’s Just Noise/Distorted Tapes, German For Duke is a living, visceral experience.
Rough as hell and potent with it, this is a right old lurch. Unafraid of breaking flow or taking risks, this is a motorway pile up of sludge, art rock, rasping hardcore and opaque angularity. You’re More Like A Young Mary Bell is positively dirgeing in places, the barely contained feedback and filth possessed of its own murky gravitas. Though there is a metallic tinge to proceedings, the band feel very organic, the drums especially possessed of that super-loose hi-hat sound so prevalent on blown-out live recordings.
The Wild Girl Of Champagne sets the tone expertly for the ride that is to follow, with bonus points being accumulated thanks to the time-stretching breakdown near the two minute mark. The band seem to relish in the un-polished, fibrous sound that they have created, and rightly so. Played with supreme confidence and without garnish of any kind, Them Wolves have embraced their DIY approach fully, and that ragged charm will hopefully carry them up the league tables.
Final track Wolf Song is a great synopsis of what this band is really offering. Running the gamut from full-bore bursting rage to deeply restrained nothingness, the final section has a fleck or two of …Waterworks-era Big Business, which is always a plus. For a three piece, this is an impressive racket, the production completely overpowering itself at times. A tempestuous listen from the very outset, this is lucid in the extreme. The sounds are on the money, absolutely right for what the band are trying to accomplish.
A genuinely worthwhile record, especially for those of us who enjoy a good flail. The instruction here would be to acquire this release so you too can experience the Wolves up close and personal.
Hairy.