Wrong – Wrong (Relapse Records)
Genre: Noise Rock/Hardcore
One listen to Wrong’s self-titled debut and you’re transported back to ’92, when New York noiseniks Helmet had just released the groundbreaking Meantime. The punishing staccato riffing, sharp vocal phrasing, wild soloing… they’re all here in abundance, and you’d be forgiven for thinking this was unreleased material that had been lurking in Page Hamilton’s vault, rather than the work of a new band.
Yet this Miami outfit – who include former Kylesa drummer Eric Hernandez in their ranks – are so adept at executing this style that you can’t get angry with them. Plus, as more of Wrong’s work reveals itself, you realise they’re far from one dimensional, and that they mix the likes of Unsane and the harder elements of classic Sub Pop and Dischord material into their sonic brew.
What’s most impressive, though, is the quartet’s songcraft: the fast-paced Entourage surfs on a pulsating bassline, while Hernandez and fellow guitarist Ryan Haft create a vivid wash of sound, and Turn In moves seamlessly from granite grooves to addictive, urgent hardcore and back again. Hum Drum, meanwhile, is far from it, battering you with cluster bomb riffery and getting out before you have time to realise what’s happened.
There are a few duds – Stasis is dull, lacking the urgency of the rest of this opus, Mucilage slightly ‘throwaway’ – but Wrong have largely got it right here… unless you’re a stickler for originality…
RUSHONROCK RATED: 7.5/10 Right Stuff