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ALBUM REVIEW
- Megasus - Megasus
- 20 Buck Spin
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- Maybe the vein that they’re
digging is just new to my Euro-centric ears, but I’m a little bit in danger of
falling in love with the glittering goods that 20 Buck Spin have been hauling to the
surface recently. Fresh to the roster are Rhode Islanders Megasus, who have me writing the
word ‘elephantine’ on my notepad before we even get through the second song.
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- An easy point of reference for those
attempting to penetrate the swampy, driving, pummelling sound of Megasus would be High on
Fire, with a smattering of Swedish rollick and crush. Still, pigeon-holing doesn’t
come easily, and there are times that “Megasus”
is more Hellacopters than Entombed, with the focus on forceful, engaging rock riffs
proving to be a major part of the band’s charm on tracks such as “2”. A sense of barely-controlled collapse permeates the
song-writing, breaking out in the bassy drones that complete the pugnacious, slurring
“4”, and the pulsing electronics that conclude the album, but penned in to
masterful effect on the grooving but crashing “2”, and the purposeful,
slow-building “3”.
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- Indeed, much of Megasus’
approach revolves around channelling an apparent racket for maximum impact, reviving a
doomy movement into something vicious and vivid, and dragging the listener along on the
back of surprising memorableness and sheer force. To begin with it sounds liquor-soaked
and primeval, but as your attention is gradually monopolised, it’s clear that the
album has a way more massive scope, as the legend of the mythical megasus is explored. For
me this comes to a head on the mighty “3”, which begins bassy and recalcitrant
but then squeals into awesome life, with the scratchy vocals eventually providing a whole
soaring layer of gnarly magic.
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- You’ll read it elsewhere and
unlike some hardened cynics I don’t think it has any bearing on this album, so I
won’t mention what the Megasus folks do for day jobs… suffice to say it’s really cool… but more importantly, you
should lend them some of your time, because they sound a bit like they might stick a
broken bottle neck in your face otherwise. A classy, unhinged and gutsy drunken
steamroller of an album – I’m already looking forward to the planned follow-up.
- 79/100
- Ellen Simpson
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- www.myspace.com/wildpower
- www.flightofthemegasus.com
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