I hate hyperbole used for anything other than outrage. You know that guy. Every movie he sees is the most epic movie
he’s ever watched. According to him,
that show you missed because you had to work, happened to be the most
quintessential set from that band ever and you really missed out, man. Every brisket sandwich he eats is the
moistest BBQ he’s ever had. It drives me
insane, but here I am, trying to conceptualize this review without being that
guy.
California powerviolence Cro-Magnons, Cave State, put out their demo tape in mid-2013, but I didn’t get a
copy until December when my car got stolen.
The cops found it and the cd player was gone, so I had the original
cassette player installed and decided to pick up some cassettes, a trend I’ve
been vehemently against (hyperbole used for outrage). I put
the tape in, had to rewind it to the beginning, struggled trying to determine
if I was listening to side A or side B; basically all the things everyone has
always hated about cassettes since their first go around. However, the first 13 seconds of opening
track, “Dwell”, hit and I knew I was
listening to a killer. It happened that
quickly. So, fast forward to January and
the s/t 7”, out on To
Live A Lie, showed up at my door and I was pleased to see the 7 songs
from the demo were included with 4 new tracks wrapped nicely in a bi-folded
jacket with photo artwork and lyrics.
So, how can this be so good?
I mean, it’s just another powerviolence record, right? Well, not every rack of ribs churned out in
Kansas City is the same. I mean, for
the most part they’re all spare ribs, cut St. Louis style and sauced, but
despite this proven formula, subtle differences exist due to cooking
conditions, ingredients, quality of butcher, etc. For me, what makes Cave State so good is their individual formula. They check mark every criteria box that I
have for this genre. Their groove to
speed ratio is in perfect balance. They
throw in just enough sludge to pop the fast parts, making for a cohesive record. They bring the intros as well, I’d like the
first 14 seconds of “Bludgeon” to
play every time I walked into the room. “Carving on the Wall” is another
standout, trench digging intro that ruptures into controlled pissed off barks
of disgust. I even thought the Marsellus
Wallace sound bite fit at the beginning of “Fossilized
Machine.” Another thing that
separates this record from other recent powerviolence releases is its memorable
moments. The slow buildup in “Self Extinct” and “superior piece of
shit!” from“Rival Tribe” are just a
few. This is an album that I continually
think about playing as opposed to moving on to the next “sure to be best of
‘14” release. For me, Cave State's s/t 7" comes across as a more West Coast sounding "State Property", which is about the highest praise I can give.
So, is this the best thing I ever heard? Not quite, maybe, I’m not sure…yet, but it's
damn good. It is good enough that when
blasting it in my car, I may as well be rolling in Grave Digger. It’s good enough that when I’m jamming it at
the gym, I don’t ever need a spotter.
It’s good enough that when I turn it up to 11 at home I have to wear gym
shorts. I mean, how else am I supposed to dance with
this erection?
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