Hailing from the wrath of the sweltering sun in Brisbane, Australia comes SLUG GUTS. Thanks to Sacred Bones Records, these four misfits released their debut album in the United States back in February and here we are now.
This near forty minute album displays Slug Guts grimy swamp rock sound with a dark and gloomy twist, where illuminated guitars glow with a subtle yet destructive energy as punchy bass lines bounce beneath everything else. Together these bellowing basses and squealing guitars give these songs their dire and haunted tones, coming from the deepest corners of hell as they melt everything in their path. Clouds of tormenting guitar haze cook tracks to a crunchy crisp, where they continue to agitate and intrude in a burning track like “Down in the Morin’ Sun”. Others will feature parades of elastic bass lines that push a song like “Ma” into muddy oblivion, like slowly but surely sinking into quicksand without the slightest hope of an escape. Another characterizing feat of this album comes in the splashy, cymbal-heavy drumming, which suffers an obvious change of pace at least three times in a track like “Spring Hill Lair”.
These primitive rhythms are backed by clangorous guitars and heated metallic fury, dripping with a perpetually nasty attitude that stems from both raspy vocals and straightforward instrumentation. A prime example to illustrate this comes in “Wild Country”, which is a true dirge if there ever was one. This slow burner is rounded out with nefarious guitar licks and plenty of grit before an album closer like “Angie” comes into play, which sticks out like a sore thumb with its ambiguous ending that could leave many listeners with mixed feelings. However for some it might not take this long to feel this way, as parts of this album seem to be retracing steps without digging too deep for something strikingly fresh. Now hear a few of the tracks below to get a taste of the slimy punk.
Howlin’ –
Ma –
Wild Country –
My Rating: 6.8/10
Genre/ Tags: Post-Punk, Garage Rock, Australian, Psychedelic
Howlin’ Gang: Tracklist:
1.) Howlin’
2.) Cold Bones
3.) Chrome Crucifix
4.) Praggin’ the Cowboy
5.) Hangin’ in the Pisser
6.) Down in the Mornin’ Sun
7.) Ma
8.) Town Tied
9.) Spring Hill Liar
10.) White Cross
11.) Wild Country
12.) Down in the Hole
13.) Angie
BUY the LP directly from Insound – act fast because it’s sold out from Sacred Bones
Slug Guts on Sacred Bones
Styrofoam Drone 
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