Triclops!
Out Of Africa

THE REVIEW

All in all, a convincing debut for the four from San Francisco, who release this "Out of Africa" for the Alternative Tentacles of Jello Biafra. The four seem like Mars Volta duking it out with Nomeansno and Drive Like Jehu. Post-hardcore fury but also progressive emphasis and math madness distinguish the debut for this quartet with already consolidated experience (bassist Larry Boothroyd hails from Victim’s Family).

Outside Africa there is a world of satirical battles of mythological creatures hurled against Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib.

Outside Africa there is a jungle inhabited by creatures as bizarre as the centaurs on the cover. "The March of Half-Babies", a slow march of clanging guitars and squared bass, introduces us to this dark jungle, and we are immediately disoriented by that vocoder filtering the singing on very high notes. The Mars Volta impetus is also present in the subsequent "Iraqi Curator", where exotic chants alternate with neurotic noisecore blasts: it is the epic start of the battle. "Freedom Tickler" is another outburst with an impeccable chorus, while in "Duende War" an angry rap à la Zach De La Rocha is hysterically shouted over a funky-core background. The labyrinthine "Cassava" and "Secret 93" are worthy of the most cerebral mathcore, while the final "Lovesong for a Botfly" is another long noise-prog ride that closes with a memorable melody that seems snatched from Huskers' "New Day Rising".

The instinctive impetus of hardcore, the refinement of progressive, the almost perfect melodies, and the exaggeration of math  hop around here and there in this "Out of Africa" before being masterfully reorganized by Boothroyd's creativity (a kind of faithful disciple of Mike Watt), which adds a touch of jazz madness to everything. A mix of sounds and influences blended together yet setting off on its own original path.

Is all this not enough for you? Come on, hurry up, this is a nice little record.