Artist: PLF
Title: Crushing Fury of Bastardization
Type: Album
Label: Power It Up
Grinding right at ya, all the way from Houston Texas. Actually, any CD which has an inlay bearing the legend “gulf coast grindcore annihilation” immediately gets my attention, as I was not aware that anyone on the gulf coast had heard of grindcore, let alone played in a grindcore band. This is the total package, right from the rule of having white type print on a black background in the liner notes, DIY style artwork.
Right off the back, let me be right up front and say that grindcore is not my area of expertise. I don't really know any grindcore bands other than Brutal Truth, Napalm Death, Nasum and Terrorizer. Please don't hold that against me; it's just that my innate mistrust of all things punk inspired have meant that I would always tend to veer towards more traditionally...well...metal outfits. That being said, I have really enjoyed this album. The reasons for this are simple. Firstly, although the music doesn't ever veer too far from a rather thrashy take on punky, occasionally blasting grindcore, it does sound extremely vital and raw, with more energy than on any dozen myspace death metal bands you care to mention. Secondly (and perhaps more importantly) they don't take themselves anywhere near as seriously as many of their more politically minded cousins. It would take a very po-faced individual indeed not to raise a smile at lyrics like “So fucking tired – eyes forcing shut / Coffee is the beans that grind us” (Sleep When I'm Dead).
Musically? Well, growled vocals, buzzing guitars that sound like a hornet’s nest being kicked around in a tin shed and drums that pound like my head after a night on the Stella. The production is designed to make this sound just on the verge of being completely do-it-yourself, which is perfect for this kind of music, let's be honest. PLF are clearly having a fucking ball when they play, and I suspect that they couldn't give too much of a flying shit if you do or not – which in the grand scheme of things makes them all the better as a band. Interestingly, as well as the eleven album tracks, there are a further thirteen bonus tracks including a Doom cover (the punk band rather than the slow sub-genre) “Lost The Fight” and “Unseen Terror” by...erm....”Unseen Terror”. Jolly good fun, even for the grindcore neophyte.
http://www.myspace.com/prettylittleflower
Chris Davison
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