While a number of bands have aped Led Zeppelin's "flamboyant frontman + hotshot guitarist" shtick-- Jane's Addiction, Whitesnake, basically all of hair metal-- few capture their breadth like Wetnurse. Invisible City, the New Yorkers' second full-length, reinvents Led Zeppelin as a punk band. Drummer Curran Reynolds doesn't hit as hard as John Bonham, but he has a similar knack for groove and beat selection. Cleave Jimmy Page's double-necked axe in two, and you get guitarists Garett Bussanick and Greg Kramer. Shave Robert Plant's head, firm up his abs, and make him a black man: Gene Fowler. Then, mix in 1990s noise rock-- Fowler's yelp is a lot like David Yow's-- and the outré dissonance of early Voivod.But the similarities are not only cosmetic. Like Zeppelin, Wetnurse are fond of acoustic guitar. Invisible City opens and closes with acoustic picking, and "Life at Stake" has strumming straight out of Led Zeppelin III. But, unlike Led Zeppelin, these acoustic bits aren't full songs. They're Wes Anderson-esque interludes that help underscore just how weird this record is. From the unbecoming name to the curiously bland artwork to the almost complete omission of printed lyrics, it's hard to penetrate Wetnurse.Yet their twists and turns invariably lead to anthemic climaxes that, again, recall Zeppelin. "Life at Stake" deliciously pits major-key licks against minor-key riffs; the pull-offs of the former are pure "Over the Hills and Far Away". The descending chords in "Sacred Peel" recast "Kashmir" as proggy metalcore. Dinosaur rock also crops up in "Slow Your Spell, Miss Hell", albeit under the glowing arc lights of Chavez. Other memorable surprises include the Helmet riff snuck into "Not Your Choice" and the startlingly operatic diva that crowns "Missing Lion Returns".Such unpredictability is both titillating and tiring. Wetnurse have an endless supply of catchy riffs, but they deploy them all instead of letting any sink in. Martin Bisi's recording feels dull; the guitars roar, but the drums merely punch where they should crack. Wetnurse's off-kilter attack works better live. There, their rapid-fire succession of riffs feels like fireworks at close range. They're punk, they're metal, they're classic rock; they're the "all of the above" that makes New York City frustratingly wonderful.
Wavelength
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