Out of Africa

The penultimate track, “Secret 93,” is an exemplarily-crafted song as far as acid-punk goes, while the album’s finale, “Lovesong For The Botfly,” begins with a gentle interlude that grows and flowers into a pounding beat but winds down with a surprisingly emotional closing out of left field as Johnny emotionally cries to the botfly, “You don’t need love! I wish I were you”; not the strongest punch-in-the-gut ending you might have expected from the 40-minute buildup, but lord, they’re probably exhausted and so am I.

With subtle post-hardcore leanings, one may notice how Triclops! pulls from the ’90s Touch and Go catalogue of Big Black, The Jesus Lizard etc., though it’s refreshing to hear a group so uncompromising in their sound, even if it is twinged with a throwback. Is it perfect? No, but it’s not supposed to be, it’s punk. If they’re here to savagely rock then they’ve succeeded — their live show will bash in your head and rock your brain raw. But if they’re trying to blaze a new trail of post-hardcore acid-punk, then they’ve got to kick it into over-overdrive. They have to move from heroic to warped: Give me more baby-alien vocals, louder amps, and more flangers. Can you hear me, Triclops? Turn up the reverb and forge bravely onward deep into the dark recesses of prog-rock/punk-rock hell and serve it up fresh to each and every young’un across the land. I dare you.

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