Every once in a while, a record comes along in which the title perfectly encapsulates the music contained within. As a bass/guitar/drum trio, this Norweigian group approaches their instruments with the intensity that noise artists do with their massive batteries of guitar pedals. While I can actually hear the instruments these guys are using, it is assembled so roughly that it might as well be a noise record, and a glorious one at that.
Brute Force seem to come from the European school of jazz that was pioneered by Peter Brotzmann, in which the traditional instruments of the genre are used, but played with a force and intensity that makes it stand apart.The only moments where this nearly 30 minute piece seems to relent is when the players may be trying to catch their breath. Beyond that, it is a continuous and sustained roar that was captured at a live performance.
The breakneck drums and percussion of Ole Mofjell keep the performance moving at a whiplash pace.Concussive, machine gun like tempos occasionally drift from traditional drumming into more improvised realms:I swear I heard keys jingling and metal banging but I could be wrong.Atop this bassist Egil Kalman and guitarist Karul Haugland Bjorå take turns battling it out, with both of them attacking their instruments with a ferocity that makes the sounds they are producing almost unidentifiable.
Occasionally what sounds like a clipped guitar note or bass vibration slips through, but for most of the piece they each end up in an intermingled roar of noise.It does not sound like this is due to any effects, processing or electronics though.The sound and feel is that all three are simply playing with such force and intensity that the sound comes out so mangled.
Due to the sheer volume and density of the performance, this is one of the more physically exhausting records I have heard in recent years.While it was a thrill and experience, once it was over I welcomed the silence and was in no hurry to listen to anything else.This is a heavy record, and the lack of melody or subtlety throughout only reinforces how brute force this truly is.
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