I’ve been moaning for a long time that too many bands lack originality and intuition. Bands seemingly shit out the same old turgid riffs, the same old screams and the same old breakdowns. Not enough bands take risks and opt for the interesting rather than the safe and boring. Thank fuck for Bear vs Shark, as ‘Terrorhawk’ is as interesting an album as I’ve heard in recent months. There’s a bite to their prog-ish style which makes you want to listen. ‘Terrorhawk’ is an album that isn’t disposable or throwaway; it’s a record that will make you want to listen over and over again.
What keeps Bear vs Shark interesting is their refusal to stick to any semblance of structure. From the machine-gun splatter of ‘Six Bar Phrase Hey Hey’ to the oddly paced ‘The Great Dinosaurs With Fifties Section’, there’s a little something different every time. Marc Paffi has a vocal style that makes him stick out -he jutters, mumbles, shrieks and sings, often in the same line, keeping the listener on the edge of his or her seat. You just don’t know where the band will take you next. It’s a musical cliche, and one I perhaps use too often, but BvS do take you on an impressive musical journey. Who else could follow up an incoherent spazz-fest with a beautiful piano intro that starts ‘Baraga Embankment’ and legitimately pull it off?
The band have obviously learned a lot from producer Matt Ellard, whose turn knob-twiddling for Converge shows up on most of the songs, not because they’re so heavy, but because they’re intense. Expect to read many reviews for this album with the phrase ’emotional rollercoaster’ tagged in there somewhere. Then there are songs like ‘Out Loud Hey Hey’ which are so fast you don’t have time to draw breath, while ‘Antwan’ sounds a little Fugazi-ish. Bear vs Shark are varied and bloody interesting and that should be enough to warrant checking this disc out.
Equal Vision
Paul