Records of the Week: MOIRA SCAR and LOW THREAT PROFILE
MOIRA SCAR – Psychoid 12″
Being weird is a hard thing to synthesize. Being a weirdo is nearly impossible to impersonate. You’re either a weirdo naturally or you’re not. These days it feels like many bands are trying to artificially create weirdness, and when they do, it almost always resonates as shallow art school junk. However, when you come upon some true freaks and listen to and see the art they create…that’s the stuff that will set your mind on fire. Either positively or negatively (although sometimes it’s hard to tell which way you feel!). And that’s exactly what you’re getting with MOIRA SCAR. A wild hybrid of LYDIA LUNCH, goth, circus and space, all delivered in a cocktail that only a twisted mind could create. Is it punk? Does it make sense? These are the wrong questions to ask. It’s bizarre music for bizarre people. And it rules. Find your way to this record. (Cochon Records)
—Fred Schrunk
LOW THREAT PROFILE – Product #3 EP
Largely a recording project that spanned decades, this relatively recent (2010) recording of SoCal’s LOW THREAT PROFILE is simmered down to its core two-piece lineup of Bob from LACK OF INTEREST, BURN YOUR BRIDGES and INFEST on drums, and Matt Domino from INFEST and MANPIG on guitar and now handling the vocals. Masters of a stop-start genre that they both played a hand in creating and sustaining, there’s also a powerful ’80s feel to this. The absence of Andy Beattie on vocals is a little less noticeable with the MANPIG recording surfacing between the last LOW THREAT PROFILE releases. However, Matt’s vocals also make this session feel a little more personal, as they thoughtfully and directly rage — and I mean rage — against junkies, lethargic couch potatoes, racists, nostalgia, people wasting their lives, and more. More succinct production than their debut or MANPIG, these nine quick tracks don’t step in wide variation from their previous 12″³ recording, as blast beats and rapid-fire vocals drive intense thrash blasts, cornered with rock-solid, mid-tempo, fast-guitar-driven hardcore. The leads have an awesome bred-and-born-in-the-’80s quality, with their indirect, vague osmosis of BLACK FLAG, ’80s SoCal straightedge and some angular late ’80s/’90s post-hardcore rock abrasion, all springboarding into violent 60-second thrash fits. Awesome! Don’t make us wait so long for the next installment! (Deep Six/Draw Blank)
—Ken Sanderson
