THE CONNOISSEURS OF PORN play the Hideout June 17, 1 am, as part of NXNE. See listing. Rating: NNN
Some just-formed indie bands suffer because they can’t afford professional recordings or studio gloss. Local noise-rock trio the Connoisseurs of Porn benefit from it. Recorded live without overdubs, their five-song EP hits with a no-frills rawness straight out of the school of Steve Albini.
The production certainly suits the music, an eccentric mishmash of plodding bass, angular guitar scrapes and throaty, Captain Beefheart-style vocals. It’s as noisy and bizarre as the best of Mr. Bungle, but also weirdly tuneful, almost in spite of itself. They’ve written hooks, but chopped and mixed them into abrasive, oddly ?formed compositions.
While Film and Community Chest fabricate ear-splitting crescendos out of slow, ominous builds, the title track keeps up its piercing climax for its entire 36-second duration. Switching directions multiple times over its 12 minutes, the EP is suitably named. We hope the band’s restlessness leads somewhere great.
Top track: Slurpy
