SLAP RASH: Chokeheld
Out Now
Mancunian sibling noise duo release a monolithic slab of indescribable brilliance via ubercool label while touring the EU and UK. MK Bennett attempts to describe it anyway.
Manchester’s birthing pool of seeming genetic excellence never really abated, even if you have been led to believe otherwise. Granted, the multicultural petri dish of music made here has not always landed comfortably and, like our geographically close but otherwise distinct neighbour Liverpool, we have sometimes suffered from a glut of the derivatives derivative, BUT…This city still thrives and thrums with brilliant bands, singers, artists, DJs and impossibly talented people, playing in every basement and back room, every bar and community centre available. Take the ramshackle wonder of The White Hotel as evidence of self-reliance meeting necessity and still winning.
The indie music scene is in particularly rude health, with this year having seen great and magnificent music from, amongst others, Ummarels, Chemtrails and Sonechko, as well as the superlative pyncher album. We can add, at this late stage, an anarchic blast of sublime noise and poetry from the excellently named SLAP RASH and the past tense brilliance of their latest release, Chokeheld.
A song that very much walks into the room and puts its feet on the settee, it is belligerent in the best way, just take the short, discordant intro as a reference to the Beatles, and we are off to the races, with the bones of the song kicking in immediately, a verse that’s heavy but not metal, more Die Spitz than My Dying Bride, it has velocity and viscosity as singer Amelia ( joined by brother Huw ) tells an unfortunately familiar tale of gaslighting and self-doubt, a song that, in their own words ‘ is about the tension between internal desires and external realities. The suffocating feeling of being trapped in an environment that doesn’t fulfil you, yet not being able to fully escape it. It’s the weight of boredom that makes you feel like you’re choking on your own thoughts, craving something new, but too hesitant to dive fully in. It’s a flirtation with rebellion, chasing the brief thrill of stepping outside your comfort zone but always followed by the return to reality the next morning.”
In what can best be described as an unusually difficult trick to pull off on purpose, it is somehow jazz, prog and still punk as all fuck. The offbeat constantly resolves itself and the bass is colossal, while your own head constantly tries to play catch-up with the whole thing, as it jumps from spot to spot, never able to be pinned down. The chorus, which is more of a slight break than something positioned for maximum hooks, leads to an insane and unexpected but wonderful descent into the middle eight/ coda of clanging metal and feral feedback, a breakdown in every sense. Reminiscent of peak Sonic Youth & 7 Year Bitch, it’s like Gojira covering Bikini Kill, harmonic dissidence meets punk rebellion. An entire lifetime in under three minutes of glory.
Imagine this through a decent sound system in an airtight room, as its breathless joy drowns you. A rare song that gets better with every hearing, it’s another Single of the Year. Outstanding Mancs, outstanding.
SLAP RASH’s Instagram | Facebook | Bandcamp
All words by MK Bennett, you can find his author’s archive here plus his Twitter and Instagram
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