London's loud, smart-assed Part Chimp have spent two studio albums and one compilation finding nuance in dirty, clobbering rock. In the four years since their last LP, they've offered the "New Cross" single, one of their sleekest and most bruising tracks, while it's B-sides showed the band at their most experimental (all of which ended up on 2007's Cup compilation). Now they're using their third LP to slow down, stretch out, and indulge their metal side a little more-- aside from the cheeky title, it almost sounds as if they want to be taken seriously.
Opener "Trad"'s title seems apt for the familiar ground it covers: simple, sludgy riffs and a swinging beat-- although the sludge is thicker, the tone more ominous, and the pace a little more trudging than their earlier work. While there's nothing here to disappoint their fans, the band does take some chances. "Sweet T" has the group playing in syncopated, palm-muted unison on every note. The tones on "FFFFF" are so distorted they sound as if they're breaking apart, while its central riff is a nauseating, teetering two-note circus ride. The song's abrupt outro provides an artful buildup to another left-turn: the simple and satisyfing wall-of-sludge "Dirty Sun", a skyscraper-sized anthem that serves as the album's high-water mark.
Elsewhere, "Tomorrow Midnite" is a teasing, patient diversion that crawls to its inevitable climax. The dry, far-away tone of its opening minutes carries like the sound of an exhausted metal act coming from the rehearsal space down the hall, building to the singer's barely audible croak of simple, defeatist lyrics. "Super Moody" mostly lives up to its name, and its abrupt ending is less of a wry trick than an intentional experiment in dynamics, yet it's a little less fun because of it. "Starpiss" isn't the band's first 10-minute-long track, but, unlike B-side "Hell Is Behind Me", this one actually builds tension and lets the band finally release some of it in a fast and loose cacophony of snare hits and guitar soloing.
No one's going to mistake Part Chimp for Isis, but getting a little slower and heavier, they've left some of their irreverent charm by the wayside. That charm was part of what made the band stand apart from its sludge-rock peers, but hearing Part Chimp continue to tweak the formula and expand upon it is still plenty rewarding.
