YHWH Nailgun

NYC-based experimental rock quartet YHWH Nailgun chuck it all at the wall on their synapse-bursting debut full-length, condensing prog musicality, math rock technicality and basement noise eccentricity into sub two-minute stop-start micro-epics. RIYL Battles, Still House Plants, Gilla Band or Deerhoof.

It might weigh in at just over 20 minutes, but there's really nothing light about '45 Pounds'. In ten tracks, YHWH Nailgun dart across the avant rock spectrum, bolting lithe, hyperactive rhythms to wheezing, carnivalesque synths and taping manic Byrne-gone-Patton vocals over the kinked scaffolding. Think black midi without the bloat, or Battles with a cheekier sense of humor; the band know their history and have the skill to pull it off, and manage to refurbish math rock without treading over too much churned-up territory in the process. The first thing that stood out when we heard lead single 'Sickle Walk' was drummer Sam Pickard's agile - but never too chin-scratchy - rhythms, and it's his momentum that commands '45 Pounds', vibrating thru the album like a Euclidean metronome. On opener 'Penetrator', his resonant tom rolls and clustered metallic dings provide most of the pressure, while Saguiv Rosenstock's demented organ-like guitar stabs and Zack Borzone's hoarse screams 'n scats create an atmosphere that's between the basement and the fairground.