Wolf Parade, Superwolf, Wolf Colonel, Wolfmother, Wolf Eyes, Wolfsheim, Guitar Wolf, TigerBearWolf, Patrick Wolf, Peanut Butter Wolf, and now AIDS Wolf. Enough already!
Anywayâ¦out of the oh-so hip Montreal indie scene come experimental noise-mongers AIDS Wolf with their debut the Lovvers LP. While the band may be heralded as the next big thing, they've created a record that is far from accessible, more like a hipster trophy than something meant to be listened to (let alone enjoyed).
Opening track "Spit Tastes Like Metal" begins with squealing guitar and child-like mumblings from the female vocalist before shifting to the fuzzy noise mess of a chorus. This repeats three times or so and that's the song. Track two "Chinese Roulette" is a lot better. To the band's credit, this sounds like an actual song. It's a straight ahead spastic punk stomper, in the vein of the worst early day L.A. bands. The vocals do sound kind of interesting in this one but they are almost completely drowned out by the pounding drums and guitar noise. "Panty Mind" is a real cool song with a nice surfy groove and a great screechy guitar chorus that reminds me of parts of Mclusky's final album. The highlights, though, are few and far between as most of the album sounds like the end of songs where bands just let their amps buzz. The nearly twelve-minute closing track "Some Sexual Drawings" is a painful listen with the bass sliding up and down the neck slowly, guitar noise with lots of static and intermittent vocal wailing.
At their best, AIDS Wolf sounds like the Germs' or Black Flag's earliest work or Deerhoof and Animal Collective's noisiest tracks. At their worst they sound like a guitar being dragged across a floor. I would still call this an interesting listen, but it's nothing to piss yourself over.