Slump Flashbacks From Black Dust Country

"Too much so-called psych-punk or acid-punk or whatever boils down sonically to some efx added to a familiar punk/rock format. I’m sorry, but that doesn’t qualify to my ears. On the other hand, this SLUMP band from Richmond, Virginia, ranks high. Very high. (And so am I.) They’ve been around for about four years now, with the current lineup of WILL FENNESSEY (bass), TONY NOWOTARSKI (Moog/guitar), NICK YETKA (drums), and SUSPICIOUS SONNY (vocals/guitar). They self-released a single in 2016 that kinda reminds me of the NYC HC band Kaleidoscope, except there are prominent electronics. They also released an excellent split EP (with True Body) that found them expanding the songs into longer chunks that allow for more freedom to move.


And that brings us to their debut LP. Slump has retained the hardcore and sludge, but it would be hard to convince some people that this is punk-rock at all. (It is! And it isn’t!) Let’s mention Hawkwind. The UK space-rock group has become a template for riff-heavy acid-eaters over the past 40 years, and Slump is certainly in that line. It all opens with a riff that resembles the MC5’s “Black to Comm” and quickly descends/ascends into the dirty sky above beneath inside outside us all. Don’t expect an easy ride—this is gonna be a bumpy but very worthwhile trip. “No Utopia”? There’s a sane slogan for modern America. Whatever explicit message (?) may lie here is buried in volume and psychedelic mud. The hardcore urge beats the messenger to death again. I think that’s a good thing myself. Evolve, baby—evolve! Things ROCK on “(Do the) Sonic Sprawl”—conjures up visions of Philip K. Dick and 1980s Sonic Youth and some sorta (r)evolution (no Utopia!). “Throbbing Reverberation” is the shortest track and another rockin’ jam. The title gives a strong clue. Forward-thinking metal fans should dig this. Imagine Voivod with a LOT of noise in the mix.