Chemlab ‎– Burn Out At The Hydrogen Bar

This album is full of fuzz'n'grizzling gristle, a collection of acidic dance tracks with white-tinted tones, lots of tricks & turns and some genuinely hooky music. A lucky collection of 13 tracks, some of which are mere fillers, while some dig in for the duration. The opening thing is one of 5 'suture's - a brief dance snatch with scratch vinyl & crackly childrens voices which heralds "Codeine, Glue And You", a long, driving track with some razor-blade guitar. It's fast pace carries the listener through a metamorphic vocal landscape with repeating motifs. "Suicide Jag" kicks into similar muscular driving thing with heavy sheets of fuzz guitar, shuffling sequencers & a simple 'plucking' tune. Next comes another "Suture", a scratching segue into "Chemical Halo", a slightly slower track with elements of NIN circa "Happiness In Slavery" (including a similar vocal inflection). "Neurozone" opens with disconnected tape loops & wild sounds, soon settling into a lower BPM, muscular dance piece with a fiery chorus. "Elephant Man" reminds me a little of KILLING JOKE mixed to an electrical distortion-white dance track. Another "Suture" is a series of loops & samples, all blended into a weird series of images. "Rivet Head" screams out on guitar sustains into a solid, hammering medium-paced dance piece with wild dervish elements twisted into a song both catchy & full of twists. "Derailer" opens to what appears to be a death-threat phone call, heralding a slowish BPM track which buzzes like a hive of angry bees. Again, elements of NIN-like Hardcore permeates through it's throat-slit soul. "Suture", another segue of minimal muic (drums, sequences) over which electronically-enhanced scratches scar, moving straight into "Summer Of Hate", the last full track. Another Hardcore dance piece with a simple-but-effective guitar motif. Played loud enough, this is a veritable killer with the shouted, bleachd-out vocals coming across like the unwanted mutant progeny of Hip Hop & Punk (with elements of STRUMMER & GENERATION X-period BILLY IDOL). Yet another "Suture" closes the album - another scratchig experiment with grizzling electronic soup.

Originally reviewed for Soft Watch.