As you might expect from a band named after Track 2 from the Melvins’ classic Houdini, Canton, Ohio’s Night Goat makes 90’s style noise rock. This is not a bad thing at all.
Milk, their 10-track, 36-minute debut effort, starts off with gunshots and feedback on the oddly titled “Smearcase on Shorb” before settling into a chunky, punky, Melvins-infused groove. “Dirty Candy” comes at you right from the get-go, an angry gut punch a la Unsane (with EHG vocals), while “Malachai” has more of a hardcore feel, with further shades of Eyehategod. Good stuff!
“Chubby Leech” might be the most Melvins-sounding sound on here, with its rumbling bassline, gritty gang vocals, and killer chorus breakdowns. Plus, the title kinda sounds like a Melvins tune? “Jerusalem’s Lot” manages to squeeze a spooky spoken-word section into a sub-two-minute stomp, while the awesomely titled “Gnarltooth Grim” sounds like Kylesa on Quaaludes.
The six-minute swirling fuzz of “Head Lice” sounds like a twisted take on Bowie’s “Space Oddity,” with nods to Nirvana in its chorus, before “The Greys” ends things on a chilling note. Despite their sometimes clear influences, this is far from derivative.
https://nightgoat13.bandcamp.com
(independent)
