Sex Prisoner – State Property e.p. – Bad Teeth Recordings

I admit to being late to the Sex Prisoner game.  I didn’t pick up their s/t 7” until last year, despite it coming out in late 2010.  That said, I’d be hard pressed to name an e.p. that gets more consistent spins on my player than that s/t 7”.  Also, I think it’s safe for me to say that while their s/t 7” was the hardest thing I heard last year, this year’s State Property e.p. might be the scariest thing I’ve heard all year.

The most cliché thing you read, in what seems like every review these days is, “these guys aren’t inventing the wheel, they play your typical throwback style of [insert one of the many hardcore subgenres]”.  Well, that definitely can’t be said for Sex Prisoner.  They aren’t inventing anything new, but they understand powerviolence and leave their unique mark on it.  Within a couple seconds you absolutely know you’re listening to a Sex Prisoner record.  For me, that definitive Sex Prisoner sound comes from their bass.  Especially on State Property, that bass is just stalking your ass down the entire e.p.   Imagine Jason Voorhees but replace his machete with a sledgehammer and you got the bass on State Property.  The songs develop and your ear tries to encapsulate the totality of their sound, but there’s that bass lurching over you looking to pancake your skull into sidewalk goulash. 

State Property picks up right where their s/t 7” left off.  The e.p. starts you off with this unsettling biomechanical noise (as much as I love some vintage, obscure movie sound bites, I appreciate this change up) as you enter that alien ship that landed in Arizona a dozen years ago.  The bass lifts you then slams you on your head as they riff in to “Judgement II”.  That biomechanical noise stays with you as a tour guide throughout this e.p.  Coffin nail hard, caveman barks, sprinkled in with strained shouts remain consistent with the Sex Prisoner brand of hardcore.  Tempo-wise, Sex Prisoner goes from fast, violent powerviolence, to thick bass rolls, to grooved out beat down moments.  They also have some of the sickest intros in the game; “Lost Everything” is a perfect example on this e.p.  Peacock chest walk-in, trench digging bass, a little chug, a little groove that transitions into total sonic destruction.  If it gets harder than “Hard Feelings”, then I need to hear it.  Quintessential Sex Prisoner track; pissed off, violent, and to the point.

Needless to say, State Property is a wild success.  It replaces their s/t 7” in my rotation and unlike a lot of other releases from similar bands, I actually feel like I’m hearing something new.  State Property is a hard as it gets, scary as fuck, slab of versatile powerviolence.  Big ups to John at BTR for streaming this online as well, and while I’m on the topic of BTR, their first four releases are Spine – Subhuman, the Wake Up Dead comp, Sex Prisoner – State Property, and the Spine/The Repos split coming out next month.  Very impressive.