J.R.C.G. – Grim Iconic…(Sadistic Mantra)
Pacific Northwest group Dreamdecay paint noise rock in various shades of silver and rust. Set to the hypnotic heartbeat of krautrock and acid washed in psychedelia, the band’s albums—such as the viscerally stunning Yú—opt for a more multi-hued approach to abrasive rock music than simply remaining within a solitary lane of menace and disgust. (No shade whatsoever to those who’ve mastered that particular approach.) Yet the group’s timekeeper and vocalist, Justin R. Cruz Gallego, takes that mind-bending approach to its most extreme heights as J.R.C.G., exploring cinematic, polyrhythmic terrain that reflected the desertscapes of his Arizona origins as well as his most eclectic influences on debut album Ajo Sunshine. While the pummel and scrape of Dreamdecay isn’t absent from J.R.C.G., it’s a supporting player in a much more sprawling ecosystem of rhythm and sound.
Grim Iconic…(Sadistic Mantra) is J.R.C.G.’s first release through Sub Pop and an even more ambitious compilation of varied psychedelic threads. Where Ajo Sunshine felt something like a mixtape of sonic experiments juxtaposed against a half-dozen or so fleshed-out songs, Grim Iconic is a more cohesive statement—not a debut but a proper arrival. As a drummer, Gallego frequently centers the rhythm in each song, whether taking inspiration from Talking Heads-style post-punk funk, the Latin music that soundtracked his youth or the motorik repetitions that ultimately tie some of the wildest moments on Grim Iconic…(Sadistic Mantra) back to Gallego’s urgent bashing with Dreamdecay.
What J.R.C.G. crafts around that central pulse on Grim Iconic is often kaleidoscopic and wildly imaginative. Even when driven by mesmerizing repetitions, these songs morph into new shapes and permutations over the course of that progression. The eerie percussive groove of “34” gives way to a squealing blare of synthesizer, while the moody post-punk of “Dogear” gradually, consistently escalates toward psych-funk maximalism, capped with an abrasive squeal of saxophone. Though no transformation here is quite so dramatic as the ethereal dirge “Liv,” which drops its languid lurch and enters a cosmic vortex of percussive euphoria.
Grim Iconic…(Sadistic Mantra), as is typically the case with solo records, comprises the work of a rotating cast of ringers who help make flesh Gallego’s singular vision. Among the contributing players are Blood Brothers and Fleet Foxes’ Morgan Henderson, Casual Hex’s Erica Miller, U Sco’s Phil Cleary, TERMINATor’s Veronica Dye, as well as Gallego’s Dreamdecay bandmates, Jason Clackley, Jon Scheid and Alex Gaziano. In fact, the taut metallic jangle of “Cholla Beat” is only a few degrees deeper into space than Dreamdecay’s own jagged charge, the chemistry from a well-seasoned group of players turning a good idea into a great execution. But it’s on moments like the closing “World i,” and its dub-punk blast-off into sax-blaring Fun House space, that Grim Iconic hits its peak, realizing the promise of psychedelic punk as an experience not confined by laws of gravity.
Label: Sub Pop
Year: 2024
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J.R.C.G. : Grim Iconic…(Sadistic Mantra)
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