Trash Talk - Eyes & Nines
Rating
RIYL
Pulling TeethCeremony
Cruel Hand
Trap Them
Release Date
06/08/2010
Label
Trash Talk CollectiveTracklist
1. Vultures2. Flesh and Blood
3. Explode
4. Hash Wednesday
5. More
6. Rabbit Holes
7. I Do
8. Trudge
9. On a Fix
10. Eyes and Nines
Users Rating |
Your RatingCreate an account or log in to rate this album |
Recent Ratings |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The story behind Sacramento, California’s Trash Talk and their rise to prominence is not an exciting one, per se, but one worth mentioning. In their first two years, the band released a demo, a 7” EP, and a split EP with the bay area’s Steel Trap. It wasn’t until they signed to Rumble Records later in 2006 that the band was able to catch the eye of a larger audience when they released their debut full-length, Walking Disease. Soon thereafter, they would sign to Deathwish Inc.’s imprint label, Malfunction Records, and re-release Walking Disease packaged with a new EP entitled Plagues in 2007. Following extensive touring, they would then controversially part ways with Deathwish Inc. to release a self titled sophomore full-length and everything else thereafter on their own imprint label. Eyes & Nines was released virally on May 18th, with a street date of June 8th via their very own Trash Talk Collective.
Along with the controversy, the DIY attitude, and extensive tours, Trash Talk has made quite the name for themselves with their heavy, abrasive, lightning quick style of hardcore. And though Eyes & Nines is indeed abundant with all of these traits, this third full-length with a run time of 17 and a half minutes (making it the longest Trash Talk release to date) seems to melt and blend together. The problem that persists throughout the disc's duration seems to be a lack of variation in the very prominently displayed guitars. Not only do the guitars appear to hit the same notes right through, but heavy bits of distortion plague each song that, although they remain awfully malicious, come off as rather monotonous. While it's not unusual for distortion to be placed at the absolute maximum on any hardcore record, producer Joby Ford of The Bronx connects this with such crisp production that the album inevitably sounds almost muffled or sloppy rather than gritty.
Though the band has somewhat regressed in this sense, Trash Talk have aided their progress by removing the majority of the unbearably dull, slow-churning sludge bits that weighed down their sophomore self titled release. Minimal droning and constant monotony aside, there’s no questioning the more fiercely punk oriented sound Eyes & Nines has reverted back to is one that best fits Trash Talk. At under a minute in length each, “More” and “I Do” come roaring past like a violent drunkard at last call as the drums thunder and crash under the erupting vocals of Lee Spielman. The menacing warlike noise of “Trudge”, “Flesh & Blood”, and the self-titled track “Eyes & Nines” soldier on, marching through and breaking down leaving nothing but ruins in their wake.
Eyes & Nines is a release that yearns for more but falls well short of Trash Talk’s untapped potential with the negatives favorably outweighing the positives. And until that time comes – should it come – Trash Talk will continue to be judged by many as nothing short of a “hype band” with relatively forgettable releases.
--Daniel Alcinii
Comments
Green Brook, NJ
this band is awesome, and their last record was perfection. i applaud them for going the experimental route on this one .. sure it's not as intense but if you give it a chance it builds up over time.
Ann Arbor, MI
The first listen I was worried that I wasn't going to like this. However given time to listen to it a few times (which is really easy to do) I love it.
DETH ROK!!!!
Toronto, Ontario
Experimental route, how so?
"Use short sentences. Use short first paragraphs. Use vigorous English. Be positive, not negative."
MySpace / Facebook
San Francisco, CA
some songs are over 28 seconds..ha! i crack myself up.
seriously though, saw these guys open for alexisonfire. never heard a band say 'this next song is called..' more times in 30 minutes. i also was not a fan.
Green Brook, NJ
dan, if you've ever listened to their other albums .. you'll be able to tell a drastic stylistic difference in the music. they actually wrote songs with choruses, and yes, songs that are longer than 30 seconds. the songs also aren't as heavy and they actually have some melodies in there in certain places. i would say that's pretty experimental for a hardcore band that is known for their brutality and short attention span. it's not quite the drastic shift that crime in stereo did this year with their new album, but it's still experimental enough to warrant the label.
Toronto, Ontario
I have listened to the older albums, I definitely enjoyed them a lot more than this and the self titled. I don't really see any sort of experimentation in this, I feel that it was a huge step back into the one dimensional realm of things with the same guitar tones droning on and on for 17 minutes... Maybe I'm just used to the Fucked Up sort of experimentation in hardcore, but I just don't see it in Trash Talk - at least with this release.
"Use short sentences. Use short first paragraphs. Use vigorous English. Be positive, not negative."
MySpace / Facebook
Wisconsin
i've never been able to get into these guys. seems like they put on a good show, but they just suck.