Plenty Of Fresh Meat

Some quick notes on a fresh elpee from a tough-ass rock band I was lucky to see last Friday…

Hairy and sweaty with veins pumping blood, there is nothing fake about Chicago’s Fake Limbs or their elpee Man Feelings. They hit hard. They lock down rhythms with serious intent and the combination creates an adrenal effect. The effect is capitalized by frontman Stephen Sowley, whose vocal delivery comes from somewhere between the threat bark of Helmet’s Page Hamilton and David Yow’s writhing grunt. Helmet and The Jesus Lizard are the easiest and clearest points of reference (and complimentary – I love both bands) I can use in describing the Fake Limbs sonic aesthetic. The Limbs just play a little bit looser.

What I love most about Fake Limbs, player by player: Sowley’s perfect sense of timing, drummer Nick Smalkowski’s Keith Moon-like relentlessness, bassist Mat Biscan’s ability to locate and provide rhythm alongside Smalkowski’s chaos, and Bryan Gleason inevitable riffapalooza (he nearly bursts into flames in the middle of “Girls Know This,” seriously) on all eight of these tracks. Good, powerful stuff.