9.

Barren Womb

Chemical Tardigrade

A quick glance would suggest that this was bad. Bad band name, bad album name, bad album cover. A couple of strong reviews made me give it a go anyway, and half a track in I’d forgotten about all that superficial stuff. Turns out: good. Barren Womb aren’t some kind of Nordic black metal act like their name might imply (although, as it happens, they are Nordic). Instead, they’re a noise rock two-piece in the vein of Big Business or Death from Above 1979. Simple but inventive scuzzy hooks is the name of the game here, and Chemical Tardigrade is overflowing with them. Tracks like ‘Dung Lung’ and ‘Illiterati’ are catchy earworms, although elsewhere the likes of ‘Blackout Yoga’ provide a less melodic, darker side to the album. Despite its overall accessibility, there are some decidedly weird time signatures on Chemical Tardigrade too, which set it apart. Lyrically, it mixes a bit of uninspiring rock star hedonism (while that kind of thing works well on Royal Republic’s OTT LoveCop, it does grate a little here) with much more meaningful themes, such as the importance of education and rationality (now those lyrics are my jam). It also features numerous fantastic little lyrical flourishes: ‘Just because you read well, it doesn’t make you well read’ is my personal favourite, but there are various contenders. The overall result is a real gift of a noise rock record. It’s just a bit of a shame about the wrapping.