Big Neck /No Front Teeth (2021)
From a quick perusal of Discogs, it looks like Mononegatives have been kicking around for a few years, based on a few self released EPs. Apparatus Division is their first full length album and comes out as a joint release on Big Neck and No Front Teeth. I wasn't sure what to expect from them exactly, but I do dig the artwork quite a bit and generally trust the Big Neck name, so I went in with higher hopes than I would for a random new album from a random band on a random label.
The first thing that really strikes me about this album is how much I like the guitar tone. From the opening seconds of "Stilted Entrance" I'm all aboard with the powerful, but still tuneful and somewhat jangly chord riffage. Combine that with the ferociously pounding drums throughout the album and you end up with a band that kind of sounds like The Blind Shake if you took away most of their distortion.
The vocals are where the bulk of the fuzz ended up. And while they get bonus points for not just shouting indiscriminately, I do wish they were ever so slightly cleaner so I had more of a clue to what the actual lyrics are. But that minor issue aside, this is a fast, loud and fun record that where the fastness and the loudness are never threatening to take over the song. This is the rare band where all that extra energy just makes the songs better, rather than overpower with unneeded chaos.
Mononegatives - Apparatus Division:
https://bigneckrecords1.bandcamp.com/album/apparatus-division
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