After a couple years of hiatus, degrouping and regrouping, John Waters'favorite surrealistic futuristic thrash quartet return with theirlongest album to date. With 23 songs, their debut release for Epitaph'sAnti Records is nearly double the length of their debut and almosteverything else that's emerged from their chrysalis. Credit needs to begiven to the San Diego crew for perhaps being one of the most efficient"rock" groups around, cramming full songs with verses and repeatedchoruses in an astounding amount of time (the longest song that gracesthis record is one second shy of being a minute and a half). The Locusthave clearly passed into a new stage of development. The instrumentalcoordination is top notch, the onslaught is maddening, the coordinationis astounding, and the technological integration is the most prominentas it has ever been. Doctors recommend that adults raise theirheartbeat about 20 minutes every day. At slightly over 20 minutes, Plague Soundscapescan't hurt. Thematically, the Locust has migrated. The subject matterhas gone from the borderline comically ridiculous to new, bizzaredepths far knocking on the outposts of tangible reality. Songs like"Late for a Double Date with a Pile of Atoms in the Water Closet,"where full-throttle belched out lyrics like "Arbiter of shittilyplanned dilemmas, you were born with only three faces," are just anexample of the true verbal surrealism the band practices and has beenperfecting over the years together. Printed lyrics are marginallyhelpful but don't ever count on being able to sing along. The practiceand dedication involved has taken years to perfect and the strain ontheir voices must be taking years off their lives. For those fortunateenough to have their town plagued by The Locust, be warned that theirlive sets rarely stretch longer than 12 minutes, so don't be a fool anduse up your bathroom and bar time in time before their set commences.Inside those 12 minutes is a deafening glare of pure energy, but blinkand it's over. As a bonus, the video for "The Half-Eaten Sausage WouldLike To See You In His Office" is included.samples:
- Wet Dream War Machine
- Anything Jesus Can Do I Can Do Better
- Twenty-Three Lubed Up Schizophrenics With Delusions of Grandeur
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