This band is walking the tightrope of trying to delve more and more into rock and post-punk while maintaining the punk power of their earlier years. Overall, they manage to pull it off here, with the one or two less exciting tunes made up for by a tasteful cover of early JOY DIVISION’s “No Love Lost.”
On this album, the EFFIGIES continue to develop musically, though not everyone will view this development positively. The material here is pretty diverse. Most of it has a post-punky feel and emphasizes Earl’s metallic guitar playing; only a few songs are in the traditional EFFIGIES vein (“Patternless,” “Rather See None,” etc.). I personally prefer these latter, but the other cuts have grown on me with repeated listens.
This four-track EP doesn’t live up to the EFFIGIES’ standard. The record’s title track has a notable guitar riff, and the thick, heavy metal-punk instrumentation keeps the excitement rolling; the compositions are less distinctive than usual, however. Rambunctious, but not exceptional.
I normally hate heavy metal punk, but the EFFIGIES do it so well that categories become meaningless. “Bodybag” is appealingly straightforward while “Security” has a dance-oriented beat with layers of metallic guitar and an occasional dubbed vocal. The production here doesn’t compare with their earlier EP, but they do include some hilariously uninformed literature about punk rock by right-wing (U.S. Labor Party) and left-wing (Progressive Labor) retards.
