It is, undoubtedly, who you know. Since signing with Cult Records – the label founded by The Strokes’s Julian Casablancas – poetic skater punks Cerebral Ballzy have been adopted as the latest hipster thrashers of choice.
Being married with the equally credible producer David Sitek – sonic brainiac behind TV On The Radio – hasn’t, surprisingly, seen their breakneck buzzpunk tempered with the elegant psychedelic burping of space whales, as here they clatter through 13 melodic hardcore kicks to the throat in 26 minutes without once sounding like anyone’s turned the mixing desk on.
But it has given a cerebral clarity and garage pop edge to tracks that would otherwise be buried in slaughterhouse riffs under inaudibly angry lyrics about cheeseburgers (‘Fast food/ Killed that dude!’), fake IDs (‘false identification/Let me see the debauchery!’) and dodgy amphetamine (‘speed wobbles!’).
‘Let’s get fucked tonight/Because it’s pretty in the city!’ bawls Honor Titus as CB cement their place as the party-going hardcore Ramones, the new speed freak leather anti-heroes of NYC.
