The Long Haul – Debtors

By Tom Aylott

Spaced out intro ‘Lenders’ is somewhat of a red herring for what lies within on this face-grinding release from South-England’s THE LONG HAUL -the haunting and sinister schlock horror reverb guitar wouldn’t sound out of place on a TIGER ARMY record – but it then quite literally explodes in volume and intensity into first track proper ‘Holes In The Ground, Bliss In The Skies’.

Like stablemates BASTIONS and KEROUAC, there’s more to this than hardcore by numbers. A heavy 50’s influence runs through a lot of the lead guitar parts – especially on ‘Puppets and Wires‘ – and the angular time signatures and knee jerk spasm of the hi-hat throughout sets this apart from a pack of very similar sounding bands. ‘Blank Canvas’ recalls similarities to Liverpool’s WE CAME OUT LIKE TIGERS, and the more proggy post-hardcore sounding approach than the straight up thrash offerings of the early portion of the EP builds into a crushing crescendo and stomping riff.

There are clever moments on title track ‘Debtors’ that often surprise, turning what could be a familiar romp through fairly similar thrash-punk ground into something more intelligent and special than the usual fare. The drumming and guitar work is both relentless and flawless, switching from hell for leather thrash sections to hanging and almost doom-laden riffs with seeming effortlessness.

This is a dark and dingy offering celebrating the heavier side of life, and the almost exhausting and claustrophobic listen drags you through THE LONG HAUL‘s murky underworld perfectly.

JAMIE OTSA

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