Two Ton Boa

Parasiticide crawls out with a deliberately sickening slide into neurotic undertakings and sensuously guttural depths. As the opening track "Cash Machine” claws its way through a torrid landscape of churning bass lines, it brings to mind the stylings of Royal Trux’s Jennifer Herrema, but in small flashes and in slow motion. Led by Sherry Fraser, Two Ton Boa (the name comes from one of Fraser’s lyrics) slather each song in dual bass lines, a style that comes out of Fraser’s love for deeper sounds and rhythms. Set against Fraser’s commanding vocal register that has garnered comparisons to Siouxsie Sioux and Patti Smith, the result is like a black velvet nightmare. It is especially prominent in songs like "Serenade for the Crow that Fell,” which twitches as it gets caught up in weighty strokes of driving bass lines and haunted vocals, before spinning wildly, veering into deviant melodies tinged with twisted sparks of melody. "Favorite Bloody Patient” is ironically catchy in considering its lyrical content — the title says it all — creating a bizarre juxtaposition between imagery and sound, a feat that Two Ton Boa accomplish again and again throughout the album.