I can tell you that this is a great breakfast or lunch recipe to make you feel lively on a weekend morning or a weekday afternoon. And, thus, for today’s pairing I’ve selected the album that has been my go-to album when the coffee alone isn’t working and I’m in need of a little morning pick-me-up: Male Bonding‘s debut Nothing Hurts. It’s a slab of raw lo-fi that alternates between fuzzy, hypnotic punk and noisy, thrashing pop.
For the benefit of the uninitiated, Male Bonding is a London-originating punk trio that found a home on Sub Pop for their debut, a label sponsor which itself says a little about the expectations for said debut. But if there were high expectations for this album, it certainly lives up to those expectations. Nothing Hurts is full of kinetic energy, loudly pulsating basslines, and roughly-hewn pop melodies. The album erupts open with rapid percussion and buzz-saw guitars on “Year’s Not Long.” But the band switch up their chops only a few songs later hi-lighting a repetitive, catchy bass that wouldn’t be out of place on a Battles’ record driving the excellent cut “Weird Feelings.” The nearly-droning, atmospheric tunes on “Franklin” are mesmerizing as frontman John Arthur Webb repeats “all this won’t last forever.” Other songs thrash with raging guitars and cymbal-smashing ferocity, but maintain an undeniable pop-sensibility such as the tracks “Crooked Scene” and “T.U.F.F.” The album ends with a final surprise on the acoustic ballad “Worse to Come.” Snag the LP from Insound.
Male Bonding – Pirate Key
Male Bonding – You Hate Me & I Hate You (G.G. Allin Cover)
Head back to eating/sf to read the recipe for baked eggs with breadcrumbs, leeks and Hawaiian sea salt.
