Review Summary: kicking some serious anus...
Lets get one thing straight before I get jihaded: this band is named after a town in Norway, and does in no way endorse dead Arabs. Alright! Moving on. Is this some sort of joke? Well...kinda. Its a joke in that it would be silly to say that this band takes themselves very seriously. One look at a title like that, and a read through the track names (And The Ass Had Spoken, for example) is enough for most people to cast these guys off as just another joke band. Don't be fooled though. Some research proves that these guys aren't really ***ing around. The title and title track is based off of The Solar Anus, a surrealist text by French philosopher Bataille, which concerns itself with the detriment of humanity. This sounds a lot more like what a Norwegian...punk? metal? rock band would be concerning themselves with. Musically, these guys are almost as hard to pin down as their lyrics, although looking at them, you wouldn't think this was the case. Its two guys; one plays guitar and does vocals, the other one drums. But Årabrot are NOT the ***ing Black Keys, who use the studio so frivolously it might as well be another member of the band. Steve Albini produced this record, who if you don't know, its a vehemont advocate of analog recording. What this means is that Årabrot is a guitar, a drumkit, and a voice, and that's ALL you get. In spite of this, this is still very hard music to classify. The band manages to blend all the best parts of all types of heavy music to create an end product that is strictly original, strictly Årabrot.
The alchemical nature of the music is reflected in the lyrics of the title track and first song of the album, which serves as a mission statement for what the rest of the album has in store. The song is long, and even though it sticks to the central riff throughout most of it, guitarist/vocalist Nernes' singing and shouting and yelping and whatever makes it a fascinating listen. Nernes has to be one of the most compelling frontmen in rock music right now. His riffs are catchy and massive enough that you'd think they were coming out of three guitars instead of one. And the guy will do anything with his voice as long as the song calls for it. from the throaty bellows of closer The Wheel Is Turning Full Circle, to the almost alt-rock chorus of Madonna Was A Whore, to the whispered closing of Solar Anus, the guy has complete command of every track he's on. Not to downplay the drummer or anything. He slays the kit, even if his bass drum is mic'd to sound like a fart. Together, the guys kick up more of a racket than most five piece bands. Listen to the last song if you don't believe me. In a world where the authenticity of music seems to be on the decline, Årabrot are a real breath of fresh, asskicking air. This band has been around for a while, its high time for them to receive the recognition the deserve, and almost certainly don't want.
