Pyongyang Kaengsaeng! - The Dry Retch (Stalingrad) Thundering toms, fuzz pedals and a nagging John Retch vocal announces “Hate The Young”, a surging slice of noisy, generation gap revenge. OK, Boomer! “Pray for Rain” continues in the same vein. “Insect O Guitar (Locked On You)” ramps up the pace by several notches. “You’re the Reason” is an uncoiling snake of a blues crawler that sounds like the Chrome Cranks with a toothache.
The album centrepiece is “Road Rage Suite”, which is a 15-minute punk rock version of that prog rock affectation, the “suite”. This is a bundle of six songs - loosely themed by the topic of cars - that grind about and smash into each other. The fragmented approach works - especially for those with a short attention span - and of course the Retch can’t help but break into “TV Eye” at one point in the penultimate phase, “40 in a 70 Zone”.
The Dry Retch employ an “all or nothing” approach with not a lot of room for sonic light and shade, and that might grate. On the other hand, their collective spirit, the guitar-work of John and JP and Paul’s bass-playing are worth the price of admission.
The album closer is a warts-and-all cover of Pere Ubu’s “Final Solution” that stutters before roaring off into the distance with a flurry of white-fury guitars. There are worse ways to spend six minutes. The album's available in CD and digital form from The Dry Retch Bandcamp.
2/3
