Secret Black Boyfriend – ‘The Ham Contest’ [Review]
Imagine Jamie Lenman jamming with Brad Wilk and Tim Commerford of Rage Against The Machine. Sounds like a tasty proposition right?
Well…meet Secret Black Boyfriend.
Aside from possessing one of the best band names you’re likely to come across for some time, Secret Black Boyfriend are sitting on a whole bunch of immense post-hardcore tracks. Six of them are presented here – and there’s barely a duff moment in this EP’s entire running time. No small feat considering The Ham Contest was recorded in six hours, and mixed and mastered over the course of a few evenings.
Standout moments? How about “almost all of them”? Talk Show Paternity Test sets out SBB’s stall within thirty seconds (making it a highly effective mission statement); A Room For Kampusch blends odd-meter bars to great effect; The Cheerleader alternates between gloom and overfrustrated outbursts; Deadinburgh mixes punk energy and progressive experimentation; Jewish Gold grooves creepily and bursts into gritty riffage just as the anticipation becomes too damn much; and Nerdbait brings things down a bit too far, while still containing enough cool moments to make up for that.
Although the Reuben influence shines through strongly on The Ham Contest, Secret Black Boyfriend cannot be labelled as originality-free clones. Instead, they’re doing the right thing with their influences: chucking them all in a blender, adding something of their own, and pushing the result out into the world as a distinct entity all its own. Fair fucking play.
TMMP RATING: 90%
Links / Listen
Secret Black Boyfriend on Facebook and Twitter.
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