(((O))) : Black Pus – All My Relations

Black Pus, side project of Lightning Bolt’s drummer/vocalist Brian Chippendale is back with album number seven All My Relations. According to the press release, Brian is now experimenting with pop structures. That simple statement would likely cause incredulous facial contortions from 99.999% of the population. For those of us who are familiar with the absolute mayhem that Chippendale conjures up with his Providence cohort Brian Gibson in the aforementioned Lightning Bolt, this description is reasonably accurate. All My Relations is the most commercial offering yet, certainly since 2005’s Hypermagic Mountain. Of course, commercial as a description for the type of out there sounds created by Chippendale is overtly generous. The relentless, cascading rhythms, remarkable percussive time signatures and unconventional shrieking vocal stylings are unlike any other act I’m aware of. Repeated listens to this extreme music always generates new findings with every turn, which is part of the appeal for me.

The last Lightning Bolt album Oblivion Hunter featured unreleased material and had disappointed me with it’s lack of hooks. Thankfully, Chippendale has re-ignited his pop sensibilities with this new album and in '1000 Years', could we have a crossover hit on our hands? Highly unlikely, but it might just reach out to a few more who would previously have shunned the wayward carnage of  most of his back catalogue. Featuring a snappy jive beat and a traditional verse chorus verse structure, it’s a real highlight of the album.

Released in March on the Thrill Jockey label, Brian has eschewed the usual 4-track shenanigans in favour of utilising a proper recording studio and allowing Keith Souza and Seth Manchester to oversee the recording process. This gives a clarity and sheen that doesn’t take away from the sheer brutality of the performance, but enhances the listening experience. Experience is a key word when dealing with Black Pus/Lightning Bolt. To listen to this (or any other Chippendale album) requires you to be in a certain frame of mind, your mindset will certainly be altered by the time you’re done.

All My Relations features a considerable amount of “vocals” for a Chippendale release, with an ever expanding range of styles. On 'Hear No Evil' we get medieval chanting, 'Word On The Street' features a caterwauling Tarzan, all processed through the usual array of effects and distortion. No need for a lyric sheet here, given Brian’s insane ramblings on Twitter it’s probably for the best, I shudder to think what the content might actually be.

The opening 'Marauder' sets the tone for the rest of the album with it’s huge groaning bass throb and spleen bursting drum patterns. Technically drum and bass but as far removed from that genre as you could possibly imagine. 'Fly On The Wall' settles very quickly into a 2-note groove and is one of the few tracks that utilise traditonal song structures.  Closing track 'A Better Man' is a 10-minute epic workout that ends up chasing itself, such is the intensity of the sounds being unleashed.

As with a lot of Chippendale’s recorded output, when it’s good, it’s very very good but when it’s bad it’s a form of aural torture. There are occasions on this record where there’s a coherency with the riffs and grooves, little pockets of merciful memorable moments that give the listener something to grasp onto. At times though, the urge to languish in a quagmire of scuzzed out experimentation overcomes and the track ends up spiralling into insane tangents, the listener ends up begging for mercy. Again, this is part of the appeal for me, it’s a masochistic endurance challenge but ultimately a rewarding experience for those willing to see it through.

I find Brian Chippendale a most intriguing artist, a huge influence on my own musical dabblings but firstly and foremostly, a drummer of extraordinary ability. The technical ability to create this music in both studio and live environment is quite incredible (I urge you to check out Youtube footage of Lightning Bolt gigs). I don’t see him ever gaining mass appeal, operating on the extremities of musical terror that he does, but he is seemingly having a blast doing it. More power to him.