Them Wolves - German For Duke

 

As if we didn't already have enough to thank 2013 for, bewitching our ears, THIS arrives in my inbox, courtesy of It's Just Noise/Distorted Tapes.

Regular readers will know that it's rare I crash on the old Caps Lock key, but this is a band for whom a splurge of capital letters is most fitting.  'German For Duke' is an EP by Them Wolves on the aforementioned label and it's the kind of thing that's shaken me out of my habit of listening to music while the muted Ashes test match plays out before my eyes.

While the occasional Kevin Pietersen blast back over the bowler's head might provide rare synchronicity, generally speaking this is not music to watch cricket to.  Counteract magazine called it 'brain-frazzling'; Rock Sound deemed it a 'snarling monster'; Echos and Dust called it 'Deranged Rock Lunacy'.

For once, the so-called Rock press have a point.

For my part, I would merely add to these observations that what we have from this Birmingham-based outfit is nothing less than the aural equivalent of Spaghetti Junction exploding under an extreme noise barrage let loose after Black Sabbath went on a binge of suspicious waste from the Tyseley Energy Plant.  The EP spits and burns out of whatever you play it on (it's available as download or CD) and you'd better make sure whatever you do play it on is up to the job.

I'm playing 'The Wild Girl of Champagne' from the EP in my Dandelion Radio show in August, streaming at various times throughout the month.  It's probably not in my own interests to say this, but you don't really need to both with the airplay: just go straight to itsjustnoise and get yourself a copy now.