Review Summary: The Locust have changed for the better in this EP and the maturity shines. A new sound that listeners will learn to love.
Music can be so boring some times. When music follows similar song structures, everything can become a blur. The problem is, too many bands are not adventurous enough with their music. While bands were making progress musically, it was a slow progression. Only in the past decade have I witnessed a change in style so profound it is hard to keep up. We as a music community are having trouble sticking a genre tag on certain music showing how unique it has become. The Locust are a stellar example of the changes that have occurred in the structure and sound of music. Their latest EP, Safety Second, Body Last, provides listeners with a new experience in the Locust archives and a new outlook on how music is evolving.
File under 'Soft Core Seizures.'
This song title from The Locust's previous album, Plague Soundscapes, describes The Locust's newest release Safety Second, Body Last In this EP, produced through Ipecac Records, the songs are broken up into four movements that may or may not have been enhanced by speed and acid. Regardless if this is true, the record is impressive.
For those who are new to The Locust, most songs do not last longer than 1 minute. There are maybe one or two tracks, in their whole collective thusfar, that over the two-minute mark. I am
thrilled the day has come where The Locust produced a six minute song. “Armless and Overeactive/Invented Organs” begins with a certain degree of chaos, an expected ingredient provided by The Locust. After about thirty seconds, the song switches off to an ambient section, brewing slowly and gracefully, the song begins to build up. As it wades through, it peaks at a truly spastic and rhythmically genius riff that is accompanied with a chant speaking the term
MICROPROCCESOR. It then fades into a slow chaotic sequence between the instruments and screaming . It soon crescendo’s quickly and abruptly with fantastic drumming building it up and all of the instruments are right on cue with one another. Afterwards, it slowly wades along with a swirling ambient section that constantly comes in and dies off. Soon, a mild crescendo builds and it feels like you are actually under pressure because it is such a loud noise. With a drum cue, the mayhem begins once again and filters into the next song for the last fifteen seconds.
“One Decent Leg/Immune System Overdrive” begins where “Armless and Overeactive/Invented Organs” left off with a very organized noise transition. I cannot stress enough how good the drumming has evolved in this EP as compared to the other albums with creative and smooth fills. Soon, the song breaks off into my favorite Locust ‘part’ I have ever heard in my life. It slides into a great vocal part where it sounds like they are almost talking to with each other. While the one is screaming, the other is singing in a call-and-response like manner. After their moment of vocal glory, the Locust continue creating an elegant mind-f
uck of organized noise. The music comes once again to a sudden halt. There is a flickering ambient noise this time around that continues until the last portion when it, without warning, comes crashing in once again. Just like that, what seems like a 10-minute saga, ends just as quickly as it begun with all of the transitions spacing it out.
To sum up this album, I would say it is The Locust’s best production yet. They have showed signs of maturity and a great evolution of their structure and sound. Sometimes listening to The Locust in big portions can be a bit overwhelming, but with the breaks provided in this CD, it really makes it seem full. I would recommend this CD to any Locust fan without a doubt. If you have not heard the Locust yet, this would be a good start. However, in order to see what the Locust were about for years previous, I would suggest Plague Soundscapes. You will not be disappointed with this steadily up-and-coming band.
