Fist Fight In The Parking Lot: Year Of The Ox

Well this is a surprise. It's just over a year since I reviewed the debut album from Fist Fight In The Parking Lot. Much has changed.

Firstly, gone are the silly blood spattered faces and tales of in-band fighting. Gone as well, is the catchy heaviness that marked them out as a band to watch.

So what remains for this five track effort, Year Of The Ox? Well, the same four, John McCallough (bass), Jason Sichi (guitar), Chris Ruane (drums) and Abby Krizner (guitar and vocals) all return and an ability to write songs that do catch the attention through a reasonably varied attack also reappears.

However varied or not, this is different. We are now looking through the ooze of Sludge, the grind of Grunge and (almost) the darkness of Doom. Where's the catchy that caught that ear, the hooks the snagged the memory and humour that slapped you if your attention wandered? I've searched, none of them are here.

So it's a bad move, right? Well.....no. Maybe.... Yes. Kinda.

"Natural Fool" finds layers of Krizner's voice careening over grinding, yet bright guitars, aching to be set free - in a good way. "The Ox" crawwwwwls sweeping all in its glacial path, yet still there's a deftness of touch, a lightness of hand. "Horsemouth" uncovers a groove, cleans it, cherishes it, hides it from it EP mates and makes good use of it - drums rolling, guitars relishing their freedom, Krizner rediscovering her lip curling snarl. "Eunuch" can't really make its mind up whether to be good cop, or bad. Harmony vocals swooping, soaring, bass rumbling, thrumbling, drums slapping, frappl... (you get the idea...)... the threat of a happy ending abounding through a pierce of Sabbath rifferola and a retro guitar solo. "Something" indeed feeling like something Nirvana might have done if they'd heard Kyuss. It might be the best thing here, or the worst.

Neither the step forward that I'd hoped for from Fist Fight In The Parking Lot (I may add they do acknowledge that they're name is a hate or hate kinda thing), nor a step back.

A huge step sidewards.

Hopefully they won't get left behind....

Track Listing
1. The Ox
2. Something
3. Natural Fool
4. Horsemouth
5. Eunuch

Added: April 26th 2014
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Fist Fight In The Parking Lot online
Hits: 1892
Language: english

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