Stream: The Timebombs “3″

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(from I Belong In Hell available now from Cowabunga)

There was a period of time when noise rock had a pair of balls. No, I’m not talking about noise music. There was some actual rock in it—hard, soul-crushing riffs from the likes of Unsane, KARP, and the Melvins. It wasn’t some guy with a shitty haircut kneeling on a panel of distortion pedals adjusting a few knobs to impress his art school friends at the Smell. It was serious fucking rock. The Timebombs are a breath of fresh air to me—proving that there is still hope in the Southland. They sound like Unsane if Unsane did a lot of meth instead of shoot up heroin. Actually, I’m pretty sure those Unsane guys did speed too, but let’s just talk about the fact that not only are the Timebombs bringing noise rock back in full-force to “kick you in the balls” static drivel, but these guys are fucking FAST. It’s hardcore noise rock. It’s noisecore. It ain’t that sugar-coated power violence bullshit either. These guys are what D.R.I. would have sounded like if they listened to the Amphetamine Reptile catalog instead of becoming a lame thrash band. Thank God these kids put out this record. Underneath all the distortion-drenched artillery bursts, you hear the anger and disgust I feel for the music scene today. Putting this record on the turntable makes me feel the same way I felt being a 13-year-old shithead. I’m gonna go flip the record over and throw myself against the wall a few times.

—Taeil Kim