Clouds - We Are Above You

Oh boy, this is macho music. Clouds swagger out onto their porch, shirtless, clutching a can of Miller. As enormous balls very nearly protrude from beneath their shorts, they wander, shoeless, to the end of their path where they sit most of the afternoon, talking about football and wolf-whistling at passing women. From amidst this curly forest of wifebeater-clad, hardcore aggression protrudes a huge, hard-rock priapism with big nods being made in the direction of Entombed's “Death n' Roll” genre. The only breaks from relentless testosterone come in the form of The Bad Seat and Glass House Rocks. The former bobs along on a remarkable jaunty signature whilst the latter is a slower, psychedelic grind. We Are Above You is littered throughout with hints at Adam McGrath's previous tenure in Cave-In and, though not a match for that band's most recent opus, it ain't no pussy either. [Chris Cusack]