Intercourse - How I Fell In Love With The Void

Intercourse falls on the heavier side of noise rock and new album How I Fell in Love With the Void finds the band not just relying on brute force. They delve into introspection midway through the opening track with lyrics that are hilarious, riding the line between clever observations as well as an angry stream of consciousness. The vocals howl with less malice on the second track, until the chorus is reached, which is a reversal of what they did on the opening track, but with more tension in the verses.  They are raging against the ragers here, which proves to be a great deal of fun, almost like stand-up comedy set to music. Nobody can accuse this band of taking themselves too seriously even while the humor is delivered with a straight face. 

'Zoloft and Blow' sounds like it was conceived on those two chemicals, the vocalist howling with contempt, like a drunk on the front lawn at 2AM; the drummer tossing in a casual blastbeat so as to accent the dissonance that the guitars are dishing out. 'Unsuccessfully Trying to Parse Nightmare From Reality' is convincing in its unhinged nature and 'Cadaver Resume' is more like a full frontal assault which displays the lurking Hardcore leanings. The stage is set for a song titled 'Running a Cemetery Without a License' which should of course be darker, demonstrating that they understand the assignment. 

'Cryptid Divorce Court"' is a punk song, and one that contrasts with the more nuanced 'I'm Very Tired Please Let Me Die' which finds him screaming to be left alone with the band providing some much needed creepy brooding for him to rant over. This is one of the qualities this band possesses to help set itself apart from the pack. 'Family Suicide Gun' finds his vocals going back into a harsher place, highlighting the ebb and flow of the album’s overall dynamics. Such as they can both explode into a spastic sonic release and muse on the darker side of a life they feel trapped in with equal measure, qualities which play to their favour on the album. 

The lyrics might be the album’s strength, though the delivery can feel like the album is just a substitution of a vocal booth for a drunk tank, but it works as it goes into something that feels real in its disturbing yet endearing nature. If you are looking for noise rock with something to say rather than just another temper tantrum into the microphone, then this is an album to check out. At times, it may remind you of a burlier, heavier King Missile with its stark speculations. , however it is rowdy enough to appeal to Noise-Rock fans on the more punk end of the spectrum.

Review by Wil Cifer