When it comes to the fine art of disseminating vitriol, Unsane’s Chris Spencer and Steve Austin of Today Is The Day are masters.
The thought of them playing in the same band is terrifying but, thankfully, more than matched by the reality of UXO’s seven- song debut. Perhaps rooted more firmly in Spencer’s usual soil than in Austin’s complex private hell, songs like Trauma and Redlegs are underpinned by lolloping grooves and thick swathes of gutter-level grind, as both vocalists scream until their eyeballs bulge.
It’s a relentless storm of hatred and despair, but there are vivid colours and subtle dynamics within the prickly bombardment that make this much more than just two middle-aged men lost in the red mist.
Everything’s A Mistake simply aches: a refined exercise in grief, performed with conviction by men who know that raging against the dying of the light is all we have. UXO is a tough record for tough times, but the pain it inflicts is irresistible.
