February 20, 2013 • Doormat Records
I saw Family Curse play back in May and picked up a vinyl copy of their first album on my way out; it's taken me way too long to actually review it. Probably because it's best to be somewhat removed from the live experience to give a more neutral review (okay, their live show was better, but this is still pretty good).
In contrast to This Moment in Black History's raw and classic-punk garage style, Family Curse has a more lo-fi, industrial aesthetic to it, somewhat reminiscent of the post-punk underground of the late '80s and early '90s. The atmosphere is usually upbeat but still kind of murky, with lots of dissonant, angular, reverbed-out guitars fighting for space and vocals that go between mumbles and shouts (and little in-between). It's like Wire's Pink Flag meets Branca's Ascension, in a way.
But it's still pretty catchy at the same time, as there's a lot of good songwriting and melodies holding it all together. I want to say it's the sort of thing you have to have a taste for in the first place, although I'm enjoying it a lot better than the sort of music it's influenced by. (Maybe I just have no idea what I'm talking about.) The album does suffer a little from sameiness with a couple dull songs in the middle, but it definitely starts and finishes strongly, winding up with definitely more good songs than mediocre.
Even taking into accounts that its members are all punk veterans, Family Curse's debut is quite an impressive one. Niche, as usual, but worth listening to if you're in that niche.
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