Haut&Court - Troffea (Album Review)

Album Type: Full-Length

Date Released: 2/2/2015

Label: Via Basement Apes industries,

 Eardrum terrorism Records,

 Grain of Sand Records,

 Swarm of Nails

 & Wooaaargh records

Troffea CD//DD track listing:

01.Sea of Shit
02. Putin
03. Caligari
04. Meursault
05. 1518
06. Ostinator
07. Chosta
08. Hienes
09. Swing
10. Feed the Fat
11. Goetz
12. JMLP

Haut&Court is:

Benjamin ‘Merko’ Simon | (bass and vocals)
Ravindranth Saint Jean |  (drums)
Arnaud Diemer |  (lead vocals)
Bernard ‘Skud’ Zurletti |  (guitar)

Review:

This stuff is filthy. The drums are alive, the guitars are probably a little too distorted to be completely audible, and the vocalist is actually angry. The short songs (12 tracks, 22 minutes) are on par for a grind band, but close listening leads to more than just blast beats and tremolo picking. There are high-pitched dissonant blasts of guitar and sludgy, dirge-like moments (~0:30 of Meursault is a great example) that seem to be put there just to make sure things don't get too comfortable in any one genre.

There are a few angular, mathcore-influenced grooves (the end of 1518, especially) and an occasional dissonant sweep flurry for good measure. The voice that provides most of the vocals is guttural and saturated, bringing to mind a little bit of early Coalesce (which is always a good thing) and there are several places where a more manic, less “trained” sounding voice adds to the correlated chaos this band produces.

The frantic, frustrated feeling the music creates is helped immensely by the incredibly live-sounding recording quality. The drums pound, maybe even pulling against the tempo a little, forcing the rest of the group along. There is a somewhat claustrophobic feeling in the record until the track “Swing” (track 9) which features eerie feedback-laden guitars that sound like they might have been recorded in a cave.

These guys aren't trying to build spiral architecture, but they will make you bang your head until your dizzy, and probably wanna circle stomp with your buddies in a warehouse. A solid grind-ish record, with enough variety to warrant multiple listens. 

Words: Ian Smedbron

You can pick up a DD/CD here from 2/2/2015

For more information:

Facebook | Bandcamp | Store | Twitter