If there’s ever a tricky genre to define, it’s math rock. It just seems to be an all purpose label that gets applied to any bands who use shifting time signatures, odd chord changes, assorted technical wizardry...or plain just don’t fit comfortably into any of those nice other pigeon holes. So you have the flailing spinning of Dillinger Escape Plan bumping uncomfortably into the sinister broiling rage of Converge, with nary an acknowledgement of each band’s own diverse influences. In any case, all these bands have in common is a desire to stretch the boundaries and try something new.
On this basis, you can firmly put Dr. Slaggleberry and their second EP. This is a power trio from Oxford, consisting of two guitarists and a drummer. As you might get from the name and song titles like ‘Feed Me A Stray Cat’ and ‘Bastard Brew’ (a play-off of a Miles Davies number, but in name only), Dr. Slaggleberry are a more playful proposition than their po-faced peers.
The playfulness in this case comes not just from the interesting choice of song titles, but from their musical setup. While it might be tempting to just plough that trusty staccato palm-muted path that seems easy enough to anyone who owns a Meshuggah record, Dr. Slaggleberry’s secret asset is a finger-tapping lead guitarist, giving the aforementioned sense of playfulness to an already intoxicating blend of sifting rhythms. Case in point is second track and EP highlight ‘13 Grades of Filth’, a monumentally writhing juggernaut with herculean riffs and a lead with a deep sense of adventure, switching between counterpoint and compliment in the blink of an eye.
Essentially, Dr. Slaggleberry are very much their own beast. With a blend of Meshuggah-like polyrhythm and Mr. Bungle-esque sense of deranged friskiness. My only complaint is that as an EP, it’s diabolically short and with something like this which is manifestly more than the sum of its parts, you will be wanting more and more. Let’s hope the doctor calls again.
http://www.myspace.com/drslaggleberry
