Horror flicks are enhanced by their DIY qualities. Villains coldly striding through the quintessential axe-murder steps toward their hapless victims are always enhanced by face-obscuring masks — and the more DIY the mask (say, chocolate-colored papier-mâché Elk-monster?), the better. And no matter how fast you run, they still keep pace — even while walking…
All that Detroit’s Destroy This Place seemed guilty of was reviving (while reinventing) the old American Underground indies of a certain shred-inclined, 1996-sanctified-era (Dinosaur Jr., maybe some Fugazi, or perhaps a Guided By Voices if it had its shit together and made sturdier, shit-kicking tunes standardized to three-minute pop stints), but our evil Elk doesn’t seem to like that. Nope. Like Laurie Strode or Nancy Thompson or even Ethan Hawke, they’ve gotta go! Slashers, or Elk, or whatever ominous antihero, never need motives, really.
Turns out, as the grainy camcorder-flecked footage unreels, we find this man-like monster is actually a FAN of nervy riffs, fitful rhythms, and anthemic rawk-pop ballads. Private party in the eerie Elk loft! Come check it out!
The band’s eponymous second album is out May 17 on Bellyache Records and features an array of low-chugging, kartwheeling, guitar-heavy kickers apt for spirited summertime road trips or breathless bike errands down to the local used vinyl shop. Destroy whatever place that suits you; get some aggression out with their rock-side of things; tear the wall down even. Then, let the sun shine in with their pop-side of things. Four out of five Elk Monsters approve.
• Destroy This Place: http://destroythisplace.com
• Bellyache Records: http://bellyacherecords.com
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