Last year's Sonic Temple Assassins debut 3" CDr (on 267 Lattajja) was an intriguing mixture of styles and techniques. On Impact!, they've focused their attention into a lo-fi electronic mania to create a brief but energetic set of gloriously noisy rock(abilly) anthems proving there's more to the Finnish underground than cracked improv, pagan revelry, and forest drones.
Imagine a band that navigates the waters between Deep Purple and Suicide yet name drops the Third Ear Band, and you might have an inkling about what to expect here. STA kicks off Impact! with about a minute of haze and static before launching into "Let The Hydrogene Jukebox Keep On Playing (Rockabilly Suicide Mix)", with its rolling bassline and growled feral vocals attempting to pin down a swirling hurricane of effects. "Transcontinental" starts with a brief, simple upwards spiralling little synth line that gets practically buried but never totally overcome by saturated chugging keyboards and screeching guitar. This is a road song in the tradition of "Highway Star" and "Radar Love" but with the accelerator floored by a drooling bug-eyed Ed "Big Daddy" Roth creation.
One can almost hear a cloud of locusts gathering above in "Ant Valley Moon" and "Bobby Fuller" owes as much to the legend of its title as it does to early period skeletal Sisters of Mercy. But the nicest surprise has to be the guest appearance by Xenis Emputae Travelling Band's Phil Legard on "Hissing Sun". XETB's more known for exploring the outer regions of pastoral folk but the swirling flaming wah-your-face-off guitar, menacing vamp, and distorted screams couldn't be further from peaceful green fields. It's a great finale to a release that isn't afraid to embrace the simplicity of good old rock and punk while seamlessly integrating unexpected elements to broaden its appeal.
