No Anchor - 'Rope/Pussyfotin' 7"

(Self-released, 2012)

Brisbane’s No Anchor, self proclaimed purveyors of “harshed-out sludge”, whose 2011 album Real Pain Supernova was a surprising amalgamation of Fugazi and Shellac-like punk and sludge are back again with a limited 7” vinyl release. Recorded after doing some kind of seven-day residency in their native Brisbane, this eight-minute long, four-track vinyl is testament to the speed that they apparently took to get through said residency.

Given the time limitations of the medium it’s understandable that, as needs obviously required, they crammed four songs into eight minutes and as a result the songs are far less characterised by the sounds and attitude of sludge that Real Pain Supernova oozed. In fact the songs here, each ranging from less than a minute to around four minutes, are more punk than anything else, the final (vinyl-only) track being a cover of Big Black’s “Jordan, Minnesota”. [Note: my digital download didn't include the final track so I can't review it although I can highly recommend Big Black's Atomizer, the album the track originally features on.]

“Rope” has a very loose and combustible feel to it, like many of the late 70′s/early 80′s punk bands that inspired the band. A few Sabbathy riffs at the end of the track and the overall filthy sound of the band’s dual-bass attack are the only signs that these guys are ordinarily a sludge band. “Pussyfootin’” is more like the No Anchor that fans of Real Pain Supernova will know and love – a high-paced sludge riff and a menacing vibe form the backbone of the track before the vocals come in more than halfway through, yelping practically inaudible lyrics. “Uninvited”, a track originally written for a compilation of songs designed to be less than 60 seconds each, is understandably over before it really begins, a trait that equally applies to all of the tracks on this release.

Looking through the band’s surprisingly long bandcamp discography it’s clear that these guys have eclectic tastes and “Rope/Pussyfootin’” is another in a line of fun releases from the band. Having heard their previous album and enjoyed its more complex moments this release is a bit underwhelming as a whole but as a short blast of high energy sludge-tinged punk you could do far worse than checking this out.

[Originally published by the Sleeping Shaman, 11/4/2012]
http://www.thesleepingshaman.com/reviews/album-reviews/n/no-anchor-rope-pussyfootin-7digital-ep-2012/