Middle Class Rut: ‘Pick Up Your Head’ [Review]
I originally started this review by writing some stuff about MC Rut’s history – but then I realised you can read all that stuff on Wikipedia anyway. So instead, I played Pick Up Your Head, and this happened:
Opening tracks Born Too Late and Leech share a raw and intense production that effectively captures the feel of a live band, even through headphones. Weather Vein is three minutes of solidly pumping rock riffage and pitch-shifted Whammy Pedal soloing betraying the influence of Rage Against The Machine (a factor also evident on 2010′s No Name No Color, and a major clue as to why I love this two-piece so damn much). No More is the kind of anthem for the disaffected that Middle Class Rut specialise in – as their name makes abundantly clear – with endless replay value for every last person who has experienced relationship-breakdown heartache, the piss and vinegar of the vocal delivery taking you back to whatever emotional trauma you went through in the past and giving you little choice but to spit it back out as you shout along. Cut The Line‘s intro guitar line reminds me of the James Bond Theme, but there’s very little super-smooth suaveness in there – it’s all fuck-it-let’s-hit-some-stuff percussion and those trademark yells, followed by a beautiful wall of sound that pushes you forward into Sing While You Slave. All this, and we’re barely halfway through…
Sing While You Slave (another crystal-clear nod to Middle Class Rut’s pet peeve of choice) is fucking brilliant. Mangled brass and another punch-to-the-gut riff in the space of ten seconds? Hell yes! Here we get taken back to the days of No Name No Color, with plenty of quirky Whammy work and a denser production thanks to a greater tolerance of extra instruments beyond Middle Class Rut’s drums-guitar-vocals core. This new approach works excellently – Dead Eye contains plenty of Audioslave era Tom Morello-esque guitar work combined with a more contemporary indie-rock vocal display; title track Pick Up Your Head has plenty of distorted voice and layers of tormented backing vocals to complement still another classic riff; and Police Man starts off sounding like a homage to Teutonic synth-pop pioneers Kraftwerk before we’re landed in another wicked RATM Riff Plus Tremolo Picking situation. Then, in a masterful piece of dynamic planning,You Don’t Belong takes the (relatively) laid-back pace of its preceding tracks, steals its life savings and fucks off down the road at top speed without pausing for breath. Finally, we’re treated to the down-tuned beauty of lead single Aunt Betty – seriously funky bass here – and the otherworldly weirdness of closing song Take A Shot, all dirty, distorted, reverb-soaked drums, plaintive guitars, and a wonderfully restrained vocal. If this is what Middle Class Rut can achieve with an expanded acceptance of additional instrumentation, I can’t wait to see where they take it next. For now, though, we’re left wanting as the album drops into silence.
Experience all of the above for yourself by listening to Pick Up Your Head here: Middle Class Rut – Pick Up Your Head
Get connected to Middle Class Rut on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/middleclassrut
And read all about their history on Wikipedia here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Class_Rut
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