Bottomless Pit reviewed
Bottomless Pit
Hammer Of The Gods
(Comedy Minus One)
Bottomless Pit comprises former Silkworm mates Tim Midgett and Andy Cohen, who are still working past the death of drummer Michael Dahlquist in 2005. Hammer Of The Gods, fittingly, moves on as well.
Appearing: March 28th at Empty Bottle in Chicago.
Hammer flashes back, particularly on “Greenery,” to the agitated snarl Silkworm fashioned over nine albums and countless singles, but overall Bottomless Pit sport a cleaner palette. Is Steve Albini still behind the boards? Probably. Drummer Chris Manfrin worked at Albini’s Electrical Audio studio (as did bassist Brian Orchard of .22), and the drums giggle impishly when that question is posed aloud.
But compared with Silkworm’s cluster-bomb post punk signatures and structures, the album moves freely through empty spaces. Placing less emphasis on melodic basslines, tracks like “Leave The Light On” work toward hooks instead of leaping on them. On opener “The Cardinal Movements” Midgett moans “Got no tolerance for nonsense,” and neither does the song, turning quickly into an onrushing chorus that threatens to spill into chaos. But the most refreshing surprise is the Joy Division/New Order nod “Repossession,” which has a bouncy bass that continually stands up to the Television-esque guitar play. “Sometimes you gotta take control”? Fuckin’ right.
— Steve Forstneger
Click here to download “The Cardinal Movements.”
