Quick on the heals of their tremendous self-titled debut album, Mouthus has released this vinyl-only album on Ecstatic Peace. Mouthus have their own little niche in the new noise rock minefield, taking cues just as much from Glenn Branca, pre-Evol Sonic Youth, and the state-of-the-drone such as Double Leopards as they do from Throbbing Gristle. This sophomore release continues where the first album left off, but with a lesser sense of Merzbow-ian brutality. While the confrontational aspect of Mouthus was one of the things that made that album so compelling, the (relatively!) toned down approach makes Loam almost as useful for quiet late night music as it is for sinus-clearing headphone music.
Side A opens with "Yota," a dark, psychedelic guitar meditation peppered by free rock drumming. With this song, your ear immediately grabs on to the guitar, and it carriers you all the way through, maneuvering around the bursts of feedback and buzzing underbelly. The strength of the guitar part here is a revelation, as it would work just as well on its own as it would peaking through the hail storm. The more droning "Sheep Dust" fills out the rest of the side, as fluctuating mechanical tones argue with guitar feedback to create an eerie insect soundscape.
Side B picks up where "Head of Shifting II" left off on their first album with two Gristly industrial songs. A persistent beat pounds away at your temple in "Trough" as a freeflowing wail of feedback fills the space. As the song bleeds into "Must Anubis," the guitar gets more repetitive, but it takes a very cool Test Drive II on the Commodore 64-esque overdriven tone. The drumming also switches while continuing the theme, moving to a more tribal, hand-drumming style which adds a teeter-totter feel to the song. Gutteral, angry groaning enters halfway through and ups the intensity. As (the appropriately titled) "Throat" starts, the groaning mellows to plaintive moan, like cries from souls trapped in the graveyard. Loose percussion backs the Dredd Foole-like throat singing, as the song dwells in the howls for several minutes before a blaze of guitar din rises up.
With the great guitarwork on "Yota" and the near-danceable grind-outs "Trough" and "Must Anubis," Loam is a strong follow up to Mouthus. However, those new to the band should check out their first album first (available on Psych-O-Path).
