08 December 2018

DESERTER


It seems like every time I discuss an old(er) band from the modern age (I'm talking '90s through mid '00s or so) I get nostalgic...like "I miss that" or "remember when punk felt like this" or some other old man bullshit. It would be easy to just dig into relic after relic and convince yourself that there was nothing worth listening to anymore, or accept that your relevance has passed, wallow in the basement DIY version of FOGHAT and feel pathetic. Enter DESERTER: by any typical measure, they are fine. It's a pretty rough recording, a small(er) town trainwreck of unintentionally raw epic crust and then-dated basement screamo crammed into a tortured cassette 4-track recorder and topped with leads screamed through a Gorilla 1x8' combo amp. BUT.....it's great. And that's the thing, the pretense is gone and DESERTER are going for it. Not going for the pretense, or the brass ring or the prize or whatever, DESERTER are going for it. And maybe that's the thing...there's not a better or worse, and it's not about importance or irrelevance, these are all artifacts, they are all moments. Maybe they are ours that we share, maybe someone else's that we observe or enjoy, or maybe they simply pass us by. Also, the URANUS cover is a bold move and kinda brings the whole damn thing together. 


And speaking of relevance, SHIT COFFINS is playing a show tonight with several bands that collectively feature members of SCHLONG, VARUKERS, SACRILEGE, DYSTOPIA, ACTS OF SEDITION, NEUROSIS, TALK IS POISON, FLUX OF PINK INDIANS, and countless others. 


No comments: