Although recorded at the point of the group’s disbanding in 2001, this album (remixed last year) is publically released to coincide with a reunion of the band. Here aided and abetted by members of Providence’s own Landed, the band that defined Load Records’ sound continues to do so through their own brand of sonic scum.
Diametrically opposed to their 1998 album Law of Ruins, Half Control puts the focus more on blasting scum rock instead of flirtations with krautrock. The synths are still present but they definitely take a backseat to blasting guitar riffs and distorted bass lines, both of which are very similar to citymates Landed and I doubt it’s coincidental that guitarist Joel Kyack and bassist Shawn Greenlee appear on this album.
Opener "Thrown Out" kicks the door in immediately with a short grinding guitar riff and spastic yelled vocals that coincidentally feel like a band having less than half control over themselves. The similarly short "A Tighter Passage" continues this aggression, even tossing in a harsh guitar noise break in the middle of the track to add just a bit more dissonance to it. "Long Time No C" is in a similar realm, but has a bit more of a punked out edge to it, adding more catchy guitar/vocal combinations to the mix rather than just the scraping aggression from the other two.
"Herpe Gimme Strength" is another more melodic one, building descending divebomb melodies out of guitars that sound like synths (or synths that sound like guitars, I can’t decide). This somewhat continues into "Artificial Light," which has more obvious synth string leads over the distorted din. With its shorter looped structure and restrained vocals, it comes across more as an extremely agro take on new wave rather than just plain ol’ noise rock, in a good way.
When the shifts away from the harsher stuff happen, I think it really is a better indicator of the strengths of the band. The title track, while still having that noise damaged quality to it, is a tighter, darker creation that feels more structured and composed with an aggressive, bass-lead passage at the end. "Live Legs" is also a synth lead song that undercuts the more traditional guitar and bass stuff, subtly punctuating it in a way that other bands would probably ignore.
The closer is, in my opinion, the album’s best moment. "Bored Oracle" is a long tune, far longer than any other on the album that emphasizes more development and variations on dynamics than the others. It opens with only drums and the entry of slow, methodological synths that are gentler than any of the others found here. As the build begins, restrained guitar enters along with more spoken word type vocals. While not screamed, the words drip with venom and hatred more than any of the others on here. There is just a better, slow build to the sound that doesn’t get as showcased on the previous tracks.
Considering that this material is some eight years old, I’m curious to hear how the newer reunited band will sound now, though who knows how the lineup will change between now and then. But even as an archival recording this is a really strong release, and the moments where a greater concession to melody and structure are made are where it truly shines.
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