landedIt becomes quickly apparent that Landed intend to take no prisoners. The tracks on Liver and Lungs are mostly over 10-minutes-long and include ranting, largely incomprehensible vocals, broken-sounding drum patterns, flatulent basslines and edgy synth noises, all covered in swathes of distortion. Some of the track titles, such as 'Osama OxyContin' seem to hint at a political agenda, but what exactly that agenda is, is not clear from the music. Instead, the listener is treated to a fairly uninhibited assault on the ears. There is a kind of gleeful nastiness at work here, an expectation, or even enjoyment, of getting up people's noses, reminiscent of Mike Patton's work with Mr Bungle and elsewhere. Despite the abrasive sound palette, Landed have been careful to include a few hooks and even a hint or two of melody in the six tracks on offer here. An immediate standout is 'Blow Your Burger', which would sound amazing dropped at 4am through a hugely-powerful club sound system. The nightmarish quality of the ramblings on the subject of fast fast food that run through the track (for example 'get your hands off my whopper') is offset by insistent synth lines and downtempo, but danceable beats. The final minute of 'Dirt Bomb' also drifts into unexpected funkiness after the unrelenting doominess of the majority of the track. The last two tracks seem to be more metal-influenced. The doomy bassline on "Tip of the Whip" nodding a head to the Slayer-riffs-at-quarter-speed style founded by Earth and 'Fuck Seatbelts, Fuck Ralph Nader' has actual guitars bashing out power chords on the downbeat with the unrelenting swing of a George Romero zombie's walk. Landeds' music may aim to offend, but it's all the better for it. --nick ilott.
:: Landed/Liver and Lungs - Corleone Records
