Number Twelve Looks Like You

For fans of diversified noise, New Jersey sextet the Number Twelve Looks Like you are offering ears their best and most eclectic work yet. While 2005’s Nuclear. Sad. Nuclear boasts almost entirely metallic (albeit mediocre) chaos, Mongrel slips into several genres with distinct precision, most interesting of which is jazz. Album opener "Imagine Nation Express” sets a vindictive pace, with lyrics reminiscent of a death metal outfit, while the album’s shining star, "Jay Walking Backwards,” explores a melodic, softer side before exploding into a metallic hardcore frenzy. Acting as the dessert to the entree is the album’s final track, "The Try,” which ends Mongrel on a great note. The entire album deserves kudos, but who deserves the majority of credit is front-man Jesse Korman, with his progression from short-breathed, too-pitchy throat work to well-winded and perfected bellows. Mongrel is well crafted and worthy of heavy rotation in any metal lover’s CD player.