Originally released on the
Level Plane
label in 2001,
Racebannon
's debut album is a straightforward studio approximation of their extreme early sound. A pair of singers (
Chris Williams
left after this album, being neither as energetic nor as instantly memorable as the hectoring
Mike Anderson
) chant and scream independently of each other on top of layers of
no wave
-style guitar skronk,
Captain Beefheart
-like mutated
blues
rhythms, a big pinch of good old-fashioned
hardcore
noise, and presumably Japanese-inspired touches like the creepily near-inaudible processed vocals that precede the eventual explosion on
"Yr Test Scores Speak for Themselves."
Unlike many similar bands, however, there's no randomness to
's style, no sense that the group is out merely to annoy or befuddle listeners. The songs are built on heavy guitar and bass riffs, and drummer
Brad Williams
actually comes up with some genuine grooves in lieu of the usual pseudo-
free jazz
splatter, as in the brilliant but far too short
"Maybe I'm Just Camera Shy."
First There Was the Emptiness
still isn't for the weak of spirit, but it's that rarity, a noisy/artsy
post-hardcore
experiment that also works as a
rock & roll
album. The reissue includes three bonus tracks. ~ Stewart Mason