Barren Womb’s day planner has three items: 1) get plasterrrred [sic], 2) wipe the shit out of their third eye, and 3) become a disaster. They already sound plasterrrred; during Chemical Tardigrade, they wipe that shit out; and, unfortunately for their to-do list, they create a fantastic noise album. Two out of three ain’t bad.
Noise, yes, but this is not a pure noise record. First of all, different label; second, their twelve years of touring and releasing music under the name Barren Womb (besides former projects and current side projects) have refined their minimalist sound to create music that never compromises and always engages. From riffs to grooves to hints of melody, Chemical Tardigrade will have listeners slam-dancing to the subtle strains of ‘High Fructose Napalm Syrup’. (Can too much high fructose napalm syrup cause Napalm Death?)
Barren Womb have always had a nihilistic streak running through their music, from their deranged vocals to their clever and often illogical titles. ‘McLembas’ starts the album, smashing together the United States’ most prominent fast-food chain with the delectable, nutritious sustenance from the elves of Lord of the Rings universe. One logical example of a clever title is ‘D-Beatles’: a punky, (yes, D-beat-y) track about The Beatles. They’re sixty years late to the debate, but they make their point unashamedly: “Don’t gimme shelter, gimme helter skelter… I’d rather listen to D-Beatles!” It’s the second-best Beatles pun, after Leftfield Studios’ ‘Meet The Beatless’ parody (sorry Ringo).
“From riffs to grooves to hints of melody, Chemical Tardigrade will have listeners slam-dancing to the subtle strains of “High Fructose Napalm Syrup”.”
The duo pack lyrical, musical, and even visual humour into their fifth outing. The album cover is a tardigrade, an unkillable, nearly microscopic animal, surrounded by mind-altering substances, and sporting a third eye. Tardigrades are mostly blind. Humour may be the band’s nepenthe, but they cannot forget trouble entirely. On ‘High Fructose Napalm Syrup’, the duo discuss psychosis over some of the most dissonant chords so far: “They’re in the walls again / now paranoia is my only friend / the rats have moved out / the fear has moved in”. It’s the most unsettling song on the album. Barren Womb have also been working on displaying their emotional range in their music. That range is on its fullest display through tracks like ‘Dung Lung’. It’s a heavy hitter that closes the album on a heartfelt note, and it may be their most emotional song yet.
With Chemical Tardigrade, Timo Silvola and Tony Gonzalez raise a big middle finger at life’s smothering moments. They will survive, and do it with laughs, massive riffs, and an amp cranked to eleven. Even though the fear has moved in, the vibes were already there, thanks to funky basslines in ‘Bug Out Bag’ that sound like they were nicked from Red Hot Chili Peppers. These punks, the feeling that you stay for. Fight the nihilism with humour and music, and getting plastered once in a while doesn’t hurt either.