Review Summary: Truly superb, and flawed only by a slight sense of monotony and a more trivial sense of tediousness on occasion.
Images can be easily defined as the plural form of image which can be defined as a physical representation of an object. And the effects that images have on us, the human race, every day are surreal, even though that their impact seems routine and mundane. For example, an image may offend someone, or it may have the opposite effect. Another example is that a crop of images cause one to imagine a completely irrelevant scenario. A painting of a throng of birds may allow one to recall past summer days where a specific species of birds flocked home as a part of their migration patterns. Or perhaps an electrocardiogram makes one involuntarily recall an incident at a hospital. And while this image may cause one to recall one event in particular (placing said recollection at the forefront of their mind and recognizing it as the primary image association) others may come less often, or have less significant an impact upon someone. And even though one may associate said electrocardiogram with a primary event, Usurp Synapse have made it their mission to make one associate an electrocardiogram with their entire two-disc discography,
Disinformation Fix .
This discography, as a whole, encompasses the territory of desultory, boisterous calamity throughout its sixty-one tracks. Several tracks like, “Meryl Streep Is A ***ing Liar” play around constantly with both a sporadic brand post-rock and a combination of raw screams, massive amounts of dissonance akin to noise rock, and steadfast, spasmodic musicianship. These tracks are often short, just barely exceeding a minute (if that). And these tracks exemplify the raw production value that only enhances the overall vibe of the music. The guitars on these tracks sear one minute, jabbing in high-pitched notes whenever apposite, before changing into a beauteous bass line or a serial of clashing cymbals. These rarities are phenomenal occurrences, if they are short-lived. However, the phenomena range from not only these beautiful subtleties, but they extend to other brands of genre juxtaposition.
Other tracks like “Muscle On The Wolf” exhibit the former musical stylization, and only retain the abrasive vocals from the latter. Tracks like “Infestation Of Richard Pryor” hold a special lack of melody, in exchange for portrayal of emotion via vigorous intensity and a discordant quality that is as intense as it is chaotic and cathartic. And though this mesh of styles changes often, there is a sense of musical coherency throughout, in spite of the spastic nature of this album; it is indeed a fortuitous accident, just like the catchiness of some of these tracks.
“Segueway Into Dryhumping” holds a special perceptible groove reminiscent of Combatwoundedveteran, Charles Bronson, or other powerviolence bands. Quaint time signatures that compose breakdowns are emphasized here and on other tracks like “Infestation of Richard Pryor.” This is another track similar to this, as noisy and catchy as ever. However, despite the catchiness, the intensity, the noisiness, and the juxtaposition of genres, this album is plagued by some minuscule flaws.
One of these flaws is monotony. Several of the tracks sound similar, and some of them are downright tedious. Most of these tracks are the longer ones, including the opener, “Mexidudes,” and therefore contribute more filler than one might imagine. Occasionally, the vocals are grating, but this is a rarity, and when it happens, it's for a very short time. But overall these trivial hindrances detract very little from the album as a whole, which, in turn is a worthwhile listen.
The heaps of noise and intensity overshadow most of the album's flaws. Add the element of coherency, and Usurp Synapse's lengthy discography turns out to be excellent. The spastic nature of the album is oftentimes perfect, the samples are fun, and add an element of personality to the music, while the music itself is fantastic. Combining sheer intensity, odd time-signatures, and spasmodic elements, the tracks shine, leading the album on a path of greatness.
FINAL RATING: 4.1/5-Truly superb, and flawed only by a slight sense of monotony and a more trivial sense of tediousness on occasion.
