Review Summary: Think the better parts of EWEW mixed with the experimental touches and the hoarser vocals from TNTS.
The only background I feel I need to give about this band is that they have garnered an extreme amount of hatred. Mostly due to the fact that they get bunched into a genre where many bands rely on being extremely technical. I have seen reviews of their last album, Turtle Nip and the Toxic Shock, where people have mentioned bands like Dillinger Escape Plan, which if you have ever heard both bands is a completely ridiculous comparison. What is Heavy Heavy Low Low then? I'd say it’s impossible to describe at this point and wouldn't want to. I just know that they are moderately heavy with many indie elements, and have a strange catchiness that's difficult to explain. The only thing I would suggest for someone who has not heard of them or not given them a chance is to listen to the songs on youtube and draw your own conclusions...
Hospital Bomber is only four minutes. Within that four minutes your ears are graced by elements of hardcore, surf, mathcore, and other various musical elements. Robert Smith's voice is a lot lower and hoarser than previous albums yet it tends to work extremely well with the music. I have seen many comments on the bands more recent live youtube videos speculating that he has lost his voice this ep shows that this is not true although it is much different if not better than before. The band as a whole is extremely consistent throughout and has definitely matured since the days of Courtside Seats and EWEW.
The album begins with a short intro called “Je Suis Ame” Solitaire which is composed of Smith making weird noises with a driving bass and drum followed by some screaming with a good deal of feedback and other random noises. “Customary Impurity” starts off slow with Smith almost chanting over some steady drumming which explodes into the typical HHLL chaos that most people have come to expect. The song has a few slower sections of spoken word, which made brief appearances on EWEW and were a larger part of TNTS that really add a lot to the song as a whole. “Meat Hole” is complete musical insanity containing more hardcore elements with Smith's hoarse voice being interjected in between in the best ways possible. The last, and probably one of the best HHLL tracks I’ve ever heard, “We Incompetent Sperm”, follow this. The song shows off many of the experimental touches that flourished on TNTS blended with some of the heavier sections of EWEW. Smith's voice is perfect blending the new rougher vocal tone with some more decipherable clean vocals.
The main problem with this EP is the length and that's what warrants the 3.5 almost entirely. If this were a full-length album containing songs of the same caliber I would probably give this a 4 or a 4.5 and be laughed directly off this site by most people. It's $3.96 at the itunes store and certainly worth it if your a moderate to intense fan of the band.
