Plaque Marks aren't afraid of sticking to what they know. Brimming with crusty swagger, Anxiety Driven Nervous Worship rages like Pissed Jeans at their most shambolic. While the band's pedigree — featuring ex-members of Fight Amp/Ecstatic Vision/Creepoid — may be a heavy cross to bear, Plaque Marks feel are a bullish and confident troupe, and Anxiety Driven Nervous Worship is a self-assured animal.
Fans of the aforementioned acts need not worry; this is nasty music for unpleasant people. Despite wearing their Cherubs devotion on their sleeves, mammoth tracks like "Oregon Chem-Trail" and "Piecemaker" are dangerous enough not to care. With machine precision, the three-piece stomp and gnash, lurching propulsively like Ondras-era Unsane. It's clear from the outset they're out for blood.
Still, between blown-out amps and slithery bass lines, Plaque Marks occasionally feel too drunk for their own good. Despite churning out massive riffs and beguilingly memorable hooks, Anxiety Driven Nervous Worship culminates in the band stumbling through the Flipper-esque dirge of a title track, one so sloppily composed it raises the question whether even they know what they're doing.
Plaque Marks may not be the slovenly princes of noise we expected, but they are the ones we deserve. Time will tell if they find themselves in the same hallowed breath as their influences, but Anxiety Driven Nervous Worship shows they'll soon be prepared for it if they do.
(Learning Curve Records)Fans of the aforementioned acts need not worry; this is nasty music for unpleasant people. Despite wearing their Cherubs devotion on their sleeves, mammoth tracks like "Oregon Chem-Trail" and "Piecemaker" are dangerous enough not to care. With machine precision, the three-piece stomp and gnash, lurching propulsively like Ondras-era Unsane. It's clear from the outset they're out for blood.
Still, between blown-out amps and slithery bass lines, Plaque Marks occasionally feel too drunk for their own good. Despite churning out massive riffs and beguilingly memorable hooks, Anxiety Driven Nervous Worship culminates in the band stumbling through the Flipper-esque dirge of a title track, one so sloppily composed it raises the question whether even they know what they're doing.
Plaque Marks may not be the slovenly princes of noise we expected, but they are the ones we deserve. Time will tell if they find themselves in the same hallowed breath as their influences, but Anxiety Driven Nervous Worship shows they'll soon be prepared for it if they do.
