Balaclavas - Snake People LP

I do a lot of the writing for this blog on a laptop that has probably seen better days. The exterior is scratched, dented and what have you from numerous drops and/or beatings received from myself out of frustration. The front of the CD tray has been ripped off (again in an act of frustration) after it stopped working completely. It’s a wonder how this thing still works…but so long as it can handle the simple tasks of word processing then I am fine. I bring this up because it honestly makes me think some about Snake People, the latest album from Houston, Texas’ Balaclavas. Their music has always been something vaguely helped along with electronics, tape loops, etc. But it’s always been presented in a way that allows me to believe that these sounds were created on something as lowly and trashed as the very laptop I’m using; used to soundtrack a world of ruins complete with a black clouded backdrop or landfills overflowing with mountains of discarded obsolete technology.

The bands previous album Roman Holiday was a big hit with me last year and many others as it ended up. The mixture of atonal no-wave inspired guitar damage with big archaic dub influenced beats ended up being a magnificent pairing and one that needed no help painting a bleak picture. As Balaclavas did there, they bring it all back for another round with Snake People, once again brought to us by the resurrected Dull Knife label. I honestly felt it would be a challenge to follow up Roman Holiday, as following and listening through their discography seemed to hint at nearing a peak with the album. And really, after hearing not much of anything concerning the band after the release of the the album, it was beginning to seem like it would certainly end up being just that. Alas a return was announced earlier this year and with Snake People the group takes a not so unexpected turn towards their beat driven/dub-punk influence with less of the hypnotic looping drums that seemed to be behind many of the tracks on Roman Holiday. Instead, they are split up between the thick punches of something more industrialized and the faint haunting churns of buzzing/humming. As a band that seemingly dabbled with the idea plenty in the past, the increase seeps in naturally and likely has propelled Snake People to higher level of induced fear and dread that they’ve managed to achieve before. Easily one of my favorite bands going currently. Please do give them a listen.

Balaclavas – Shit Meridian (stream)

Those interested in picking up Snake People can do so by hitting up Dull Knife where it is currently available on both LP/CD. Can’t stress enough to grab this if you like what you hear. Enjoy!