I Am Come is the second album from the UK's Part Chimp, and their second for the label formed by Mogwai, Rock Action. The band are certainly prone to slow, "Part Chimp Fear Satan" guitar squalls, but where those are emotional crescendos for some bands, they're just interludes between the highlights of I Am Come. "Bakahatsu" is the prototypical grinding opener. Standing squarely under Mogwai's shadow for 90 seconds, it's just buildup for the sludgy sweet tooth of album peak "War Machine". Ringing guitars march forward despite being interrupted by a distorted gallop every four bars, with a melody and rhythm no less effective for their simplicity.
Volume is Part Chimp's primary instrument, and while brief respites like "Bubbles" are welcome and needed, quiet moments are the enemy. Clean guitar chords creep quietly past, waiting for the next bomb to fall. Sometimes they're safe for close to an entire song ("Bubbles"), sometimes there's only a few seconds before the next attack ("Bring Back the Sound"). The orderly assault of "War Machine" gives way to the steady, relentless hammering of "Hello Bastards", after which "Bubbles" is a trickle in comparison. By the time the Stooges-nodding "Punishment Ride" finishes and "Bring Back the Ride" is underway, the fuzz pedals are planting their flag.
"Punishment Ride" is one of the few songs following the quiet/loud dynamic; most just go from loud to louder. "Dr. Horse Part Two" is a solid wall of heavy psychedelia, followed up by the reckless pace of "Fasto". The bent notes of the title track sound like support beams breaking under the weight of the song's monolithic blues riffing, and "30 Billion People" sounds something like Black Sabbath covering Pavement's "Two States", boiling over with layers of distortion and erratic guitar solos.
Is it any different than last year's Chart Pimp? Is the loudness louder, is the noise nosier? Well, yes and yes, not to mention tighter songs and the band getting a deeper grasp of their dynamics (meaning the few seconds of calm are more concise and effective). Hard to believe that with a sound that's all about overkill, not one note is wasted. These songs are as tight as any pop groups, just played with ear-splitting volume. I wouldn't call it unpredictable, but I Am Come has slight variety amongst the chaos, anchored by a canny sense of pacing. Add that to the 20-ton hooks of "War Machine" and "Bring Back the Sound", you've got a noteworthy sophomore record-- and, most importantly, one that rocks.
