Part Chimp

When Scottish noiseniks Part Chimp emerged in 2002 on Mogwai’s Rock Action label they were self-proclaimed amateurs who primitively clawed at their instruments to radiate whatever noise they could that came close to resembling music. It turns out they were quite good at accidentally making music and their debut Chart Pimp (get it?) was a deafening beauty that resembled everything from Big Black and Sonic Youth to Melvins and even pals Mogwai, at their heaviest. How nice it is to see them return with a second album, and one that manages to better their debut by a sizeable margin. Part Chimp still sound like their cracking away at learning the possibilities and limits of their instruments, but it’s the seemingly unintentional moments, like the crackling amplifiers on "Hello Bastards” that give this band their intensity. "Punishment Ride” begins as a lightly strummed, tuneless number that appears harmless right until it blasts into oblivion with unrelenting sonic force. "30,000,000,000 People” gets into a nice fuzzed-out groove that is engulfed in unruly blanket of distortion, while "Dr Horse Pt II” walks a fine line between doom and sludge metal without ever settling in either territory. Still sloppy, still noisy and still ferocious, Part Chimp have turned in an excellent sophomore record that shows what you can achieve without technical merit.