ninehertz

Lords of Bastard are back again, this time with the immediately likeable 'Cuddles'.

With perhaps the best-written press release I've ever seen, LoB are certainly a band with their tongues firmly lodged in their cheeks.

The music on offer however is part drug-addled circus music (see Bloody Hell for some amazing big top style keyboard plonking) and Big Business gone a bit skewed. This Edinburgh-based foursome (didn't there used to be three of them?) have a sense of groove not unlike the Melvins' current backing band, but their sound is rooted in rock and roll too, solos creep in now and again and the power of the riff flows through the entire release as if like a life force.

The release is snake-hipped for sure, there's some great jams on here, sometimes sounding a little improvised, sometimes sounding as pinpoint as the inimitable Cardiacs. Listen for long enough and there is order in the chaos, like someone sober plowing their way through a drunken crowd to the bar, undeterred, tenner in hand to slake their thirst.

There's disturbing parts too, the chilling, quiet end to I'm In My Walls happens abruptly, but for a few seconds, there's a quiet whistling and white noise sample that's simply unnerving.

Check this out for some flailing riffs and some excellent monastic-style vocals, you'll (probably) not regret it.