The Now

Although both the name, the Now, and the sparse artwork suggest either an '80s new wave dance act or one of the uncountable '60s archaic pop rock dinosaurs who lived only to place the word "the" in front of their single-word monikers, the Now are neither, a fact alluded to by the sinisterly sarcastic song titles and live shots adorning this disc. This six-song, near ten-minute disc is a furious assault of discordant noise-drenched hardcore, metallic scrapings that weave in and out of doom and mosh segments, abrasive punk and even some melodic parts to alleviate this glorious cacophony, akin to the fury of Reversal of Man, save not as grind tempo-dominated. "The Don't Call Him Columbine Because He Wears A Trenchcoat, They Call Him Columbine Because He Kills People," "Come On, All The Girls I Know Throw Up" and "She's Heroin" are all manic in their execution, playing to the Now's aggressive strengths while veering dangerously close to losing themselves in atonal dissonance, but never sacrificing their urgency. The Now even incorporate some vintage Helmet-style riffs into their noise, coupled with numerous stop-start segments, becoming more complex and spastic in the process. Criminally short, this EP is merely a warning of the musical destruction sure to follow.