Homegrown noise rock by way of Meatrack, Stagmummer and more recently KEN Mode. Digging a little deeper by way of their Manitoba Music page it turns out that they are alumni from both Meatrack and Stagmummer. Jeff Laplante is even given a writing credit, though he does not appear on the record. Their Bandcamp page mentions cues from Frank Zappa and The Jesus Lizard, which resonates with their aforementioned qualifications to a point; though I have to say there has always been a problem with comparisons to Jesus Lizard, as there is a momentum and synergy there that I don’t think any other band on the planet could ever encapsulate, and that always serves to illustrate the differences between the band making the comparison and JL instead of the intended mental pairing. This is true even of JL vocalist Yow’s involvement in fellow Chicago noise rock (read: total JL worship) outfit Qui, so it is not a bias against a hometown crew that have been carving out this trench for the last 10-15 years. Rather, I have always resorted to reading this as a statement of intent rather than a direct musical comparison, and in that way it makes some sense. Distorted vocals sit at the front of the mix, backed up by meaty fuzzed out bass and tonally complimentary guitars that periodically break off into separate intertwining leads. There are some proggy time signatures represented, but it is more Rollins Band-esque than math rock (see track four, “Dream Date”). Well executed, perhaps a particular feel that this needs more drive or momentum pushed to the fore and my ears, but this time that is my own bias. Fans of Am Rep, Hide Your Daughters, KEN Mode, Kittens, check it out. (No List Records, nolistrecords.com) Brad Skibinsky