Who’d a thunk the dudes from Avarus were so much fun? Though a definite druggy looseness runs through their records, they always seem so serious about the end product, no matter how silly. A few of those dopes let it all hang out in Hetero Skeleton, a band of Finnish stragglers with a severe case of noise tourettes. Their first widely available work of art, En La Sombra del Pajaro Velludo, consists of nine tracks, most barely hitting the three-minute mark. Yet a multitude of ideas lies within these short energetic bursts, spanning the harsh side of the ‘out’ music spectrum from skronk-rock to free-jazz.
As soon as the first warped keyboard groove slides out of the amp a barrage of drumming assaults the speakers with an attack similar to a guitar line in a power violence song. Soon, a skronking and flittering saxophone appears amid the drum avalanche, framing the tune as an “L.A. Blues”-like meltdown. Much of the first part of the record follows the same pattern, throwing goofy slide whistles and vocal spasms to the stew. It hits a peak with the 10-minute third track, wherein the band stretch their inventive spasm rock to its full potential with a glorious exercise in excess and violent therapy maneuvering.
“El Serpente Del Amor,” the second part of the record, sounds more mature but just as nutty. Though the band still throws around 10 million notions of a groove at once, they filter with smoother... errr... less rough transitions. The Borbetomagus shrieking sax still brings normalcy to the psychotic jam session, but the vocals grow more violent, undermining any stab at a subdued moment. Stop-start antics show just how tightly the band is structured, as the drummer seems glued to the guitarist and the saxophonist. The band reaches a high water mark on the sixth track, a straightforward no-wave tune in which its chaos is more organized. The spirit of Machine Gun-era Peter Brötzmann shrieks his horn, while gypsies cover The Contortions, melting down into a tribal drum-driven soundtrack to an LSD-fueled cartoon. The disc ends with a tune that sounds like an inverted take on a soundtrack to the Wild West, like Smegma reinterpreting Ennio Morricone
En La Sombra del Pajaro Velludo is a trash heap wherein something new and interesting can always be found. Spazz music hasn’t been this exciting and messy since The Boredoms’ Wow 2. Here’s to hoping Hetero Skeleton does not mellow anytime soon.
1. La Oracion Del Muerte (Pts. 1-3)
2. El Serpente Del Amor (Pts. 4-9)
More about: Hetero Skeleton
