Albums of the Week: 03/05/19 (Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, Fury, The Physics House Band)

Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes – The End of Suffering

8/10

Best Tracks: Love Games, Angel Wings, Kitty Sucker

FFO: Royal Blood, Nothing But Thieves, Marmozets

When I first heard Frank Carter, he was ripping his vocal chords to shreds on Gallows’ Orchestra of Wolves, an album I still consider one of the best I’ve ever heard. Since those days, Frank has grown and evolved (both as an artist and as a person), and it seems that The End of Suffering summarises the changes of these past 10 years or so pretty perfectly for Britain’s greatest rockstar.

The third album from the Rattlesnakes sees a change in the band’s sound yet again. It almost completely does away with the venom of their debut, and instead follows the path laid down by songs from Modern Ruin such as ‘Wild Flowers’ and ‘Thunder’, but still feels a lot more thoughtful and purposefully minimalistic than the sophomore attempt overall. The brilliant contribution of lead guitarist and co-songwriter Dean Richardson cannot be overstated here, with his hand in the record’s production and instrumental elements. Whilst the guitar and bass is still massively fuzzed-up for the most part, it’s not necessarily employed in the way it would be in a punk band; instead, the staccato riffing evokes the style Royal Blood, an artist with similarly huge choruses.

Indeed, the simple catchiness of the hooks all over The End of Suffering is its biggest strength, especially in regard to the album’s slower moments. ‘Love Games’ could be a Bond theme, in all its sultry, piano-led, Winehouse-esque glory, and ‘Angel Wings’ is an affecting slow-build with a refrain which is far from easily forgotten. Of course, Carter’s typically rowdy side still comes across on songs like ‘Crowbar’ (“Fuck ‘em all, they don’t tell us who we are”) and ‘Tyrant Lizard King’, even if it’s conveyed more through the lyrical content than the actual sound.

The title track of The End of Suffering is its final song, and it’s a beautiful, heartfelt ballad dedicated to Carter’s daughter, Mercy. The closing refrain finds him wishing that “[her] happiness will be the end of suffering”, providing some incredibly poignant context to the album’s name, and it’s all made even more touching with the inclusion of an audio snippet of the frontman and his daughter laughing together. This closer reinforces the idea that the record is an ode to how far Frank Carter has come since his bitter, spiteful youth, and it feels like the conclusion to a 13-year-long journey of which every single step has been compelling for a different reason. Even as he admits he still struggles (on ‘Anxiety’ and ‘Angel Wings’), there are underlying themes of genuine hope and self-love on this album which sets it apart from anything else the artist has put his name to.

The End of Suffering is an incredibly personal album, and it serves as a reminder that we, as a country, have a legitimate national treasure on our hands in the form of this unapologetically punk-rock cult of personality. I might still prefer the raw energy of Blossom, but it can’t be denied that this is the album Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes were destined to make at this point in their career. The End of Suffering is my album of the week.

Fury – Failed Entertainment

7.5/10

Best Tracks: Angels Over Berlin, New Years Days, Crazy Horses Run Free

FFO: Minor Threat, Ecostrike, Turnstile

Hardcore punk has experienced somewhat of a revival in recent years, at least on a more mainstream level. Bands like Turnstile, Knocked Loose, and even Ho99o9 have all brought the mantra to the fore in one way or another, and it seems that the genre’s reach is being felt as far away as the big names of the industry.

Orange County punks Fury, with their steadfast DIY ethos and classic influences, are a timely reminder of hardcore’s roots, and how brilliant it can be in its purest form. Failed Entertainment is peppered with moments which sound like Minor Threat or Black Flag with a chunkier, more robust production job; from the two-step and double-time passages in ‘America’ to the short-lived solo on ‘Birds of Paradise’. There’s inspiration from modern hardcore, here, as well, in that there’s an irresistible bounce to the riffing across the record akin to Turnstile’s Time & Space, even if it does replace the good-time disco vibe with a more outright mosh-pit punk feel.

Ultimately, the record really comes into its own at the close. ‘New Years Days’ and ‘Crazy Horses Run Free’ both stand out for their melodic elements (whether it be in the guitarwork or vocal performances), and it lends everything a sense of individuality and uniqueness which, it could be argued, the rest of the album lacks a little (save for ‘Vacation’, the record’s third song, which almost sounds like early Culture Abuse). With 11 songs clocking in at 27 minutes, Failed Entertainment is an exercise in efficient, down-to-earth hardcore punk songwriting. It’s exciting, it’s rugged, and it’s… well, furious.

The Physics House Band – Death Sequence (EP)

7.5/10

Best Tracks: I usually give three songs here but this EP is four songs long, so just listen to all of it.

FFO: Three Trapped Tigers, God Is An Astronaut, KOKOROKO

The Physics House Band have long been on my radar as a curious fan of psychedelic, jazz, post, and math rock, but I’d never gone in on their previous work. As such, their new EP, Death Sequence, is the first I’ve heard of the Brighton quintet, and it’s as lovely as I’d expected… but, thankfully, with more horns.

This EP consists of four tracks, each serving as a different step on a journey; the first is a luscious, swirling trip which combines the beautiful aforementioned horn section with some chunky riffage and creative effects trickery, dipping in and out of intensity with structural expertise. In the second song, the jazz influence is more apparent, and its end is an explosion of colour that eventually suddenly gives way to an ambient third part, which itself features a rather unexpected spoken word piece by Solihull comic Stewart Lee – a seemingly questionable decision which actually ends up being oddly compelling, as he rants about his upbringing and heritage. The climax finds the EP ending with a vortex of complex guitar and synth passages which gradually build to an abrupt stop, pulling the listener out of their experience without mercy or warning.

To some, this project might often seem like background listening, but I'd defy anyone to listen to it all the way through and tell me it doesn't absolutely demand their full attention. Death Sequence may feel like a night at the world’s weirdest working men’s club on two tabs of acid, but it’s an enthralling listening experience because of it. More than anything else, this third “proper” release from The Physics House Band is a testament to their artistic capabilities.