Like a lot of grunge rockers, Effluence set their stall out early doors on this debut release with an almighty crashing introduction of feedback, drums and guitars going crazy. A verse arrives like a angry train, then by the time we’re 45 seconds in the vocal screams: ‘My mother fucked a paedophile’ over and over again – a troubling issue to deal with, and one possibly never tackled through the medium of song before. It’s a catchy melody too, which is frustrating as it’s not the sort of line you want to catch yourself singing in public. It sets a sinister tone and while it’s the impact choice as the opener, it doesn’t accurately reflect the craft of the overall release – which is nowhere near as confrontational as this.
A heavy bass rolls us into the less intense ‘Milky’ which allows overlapping guitar tracks to build to a feverish crescendo, before giving way to a vocal part backed only by symbols and a single riff. Then everything let’s loose on the chorus. It’s a stronger track than ‘Japan Eye’ but it lays bare one of the main issue with this six-track EP – it’s formulaic to the point of timed anticipation.
It’s fast-paced though; unrelentingly so on ‘Stilts’, which opens with a more refrained lyric of “I’m hell bent on loving you.” At times it sounds as if Matt Bellamy has been locked up with Primus blaring into his ears for days on end, before he’s plugged into the electric mains.
The production is grimy but clean enough to reveal strong musicianship. None more so than on title track ‘Vinegar Stroke,’ which stands out because it breaks away from the formula to a certain extent. Okay, there’s still a quiet-bit-loud-bit but that’s what defines the genre. The riffs are more considered, which makes the caustic lines like ‘You’re too frigid to flick your own bean,’ all the more powerful.
Closing track ‘Little Shepherd’ sounds like a band having a riot – there’s no pretentiousness, there’s just three guys in a room going off on one until their fingers bleed. Probably. It’s nothing new and it’s not going to attract mainstream attention, but you get the feeling that’s not what the band is looking for – and neither are their audience.
Released October 1st from their Big Cartel.
Posted by Kevin Scott.
