American Standards – Hungry Hands EP

  • Steven Farkas posted
  • Reviews

American Standards

Hungry Hands EP - Enjoyment Records

Hungry Hands, the latest release from Arizona noise punks American Standards delivers three tracks of blistering intensity that should come with a health warning. From the opening bars of Casket Party, the bludgeoning riffs take you on a ride that could have some fearing for the lives..or at the very least worried about their long term hearing. You can imagine this band leaving everything in their wake in a state of post-apocalyptic chaos. Distortion rules, punctuated with stoner rock riffs and chant-a-long choruses that you don’t even care what they say as you’ll be so carried away with being angry at whatever these guys are angry about (note, they they seem super angry)!

With Circus Rats there is no let up in the intensity, even if the pace drops slightly. The vocals are delivered with a venom and energy which hit you like a punch to the sternum. Midway through, the chaos ends and is replaced with a simple piano and guitar melody which is mercilessly cut off with a slice of distortion and we’re thrown back into the chaos for a few seconds before it does finally come to an end. The Complex Death Machine continues the chaotic theme, with the instruments converging with the vocals to draw this EP to a close in a perfect storm of distortion, melody and brutality.

It is actually difficult to say whether I even really like this EP, I mean I think I do, but it’s almost the musical equivalent of watching a car crash, in that you don’t really want to look(or in this case listen), but you do. You might even go past again for a second glimpse. Or possibly a third. What I can say is that it is certainly a release that will take multiple listens to appreciate the complexity, and those that persevere will be rewarded.