Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower : If You Cut Us, We Bleed
If the Feds ever see video of TPTBUTET’s live show they’ll be knocking on these San Diegans doors quicker than an 60 Minutes raid on your local diocese. Prompting their mostly male and underage crowd to nakedness and “get their freak on with each other-ness”, this is a band the parents of America don’t, nay CAN’T, want their precious children to hear. Good thing for us that these guys aren’t booked for next years Super Bowl halftime show.
If You Cut Us, We Bleed is the EP follow-up to last years breakthrough debut LP, Dissertation, Honey. Showing a higher degree of musical maturation, sassiness and piss `n vinegar from their previous releases, the Plot dive head first into avant-garde free-form jazz hardcore madness. Sounds good already doesn’t it? Relying less on the established hardcore formula developed by bands like Swing Kids and Refused, If You Cut Us puts the band closer to the likes of Arab on Radar and Antioch Arrow in its ability to transcend what you thought hardcore was supposed to sound like. The new face of hardcore doesn’t wear Champion hoodies and start fights; instead it wears nothing but its birthday suit and prefers to mix it up in a bi-sexual orgy. Times are changing for the better, my friends.
On the title track, vocalist Brandon Welchez sums up the effect of the Plot on today’s youngsters: “see your cherubs/ they’re fucking in your streets“. Less overtly political than Dissertation, the theme on this EP is to piss off, freak out, and scare the homophobic and sexually repressed legions that exist in this country. Every track on this three song release oozes sexuality, and because the band members’ sexual preferences are never quite confirmed or denied, the Plot become a very dangerous band for the right wing Gestapo to have their cherubs listening to. And that’s part of this EP’s allure. It seems to be prepping the band for a full on assault on America’s sexual Puritanism. First your sweet little Adam knocks up Eve, and the next thing you know he’s making out with Steve. Androgyny never sounded this brutal.
Former Plot bassist Dan Maier steps up his production skills on this EP quite a bit. The vocals cut through with much more aggression than on Dissertation while the rhythm section pounds out the dancey beats and grooves with improved vigor. Guitarist Chuck Rowell has obviously been studying his jazz progressions, as the guitar blends its hardcore roots with free form jazz leanings in a more focused and at the same time spastic manner than we’ve heard before. Brandon’s squealing saxophone jams have found a more distinct an important role on this release, as they now seem to be a full part of the Plot’s musical repertoire, not merely stylistic novelty. If You Cut Us, We Bleed is an important step forward for these San Diego sexpots, and you can be sure that they’re going to continue to push the boundaries of hardcore on future releases.
Similar albums:
Clikitat Ikatowi – River of Souls
Antioch Arrow – The Lady is a Cat
Arab on Radar – Queen Hygiene II/ Rough Day at the Orifice
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