Harsh
Hygiene Advice for Cheerleaders EP
Containing four of the tracks that you will have heard if you’ve seen them live, Hygiene Advice for Cheerleaders is plugging the gap between Harsh’s Pig Album and their forthcoming long play, which is due for release some time before 2007.
‘Death by Misadventure’ kicks things off with metronome-precise drumming and loads of guitar noise. The sneering vocal of Rich Maylott drags you through the verse with the aid of a hooky guitar riff.
Substantially less than three minutes later, ‘The Project’ kicks off. This track has the best chorus on the EP both musically and in the ‘indifferent yet marred by cheap eyeliner’ lyric. The inspired break after the first chorus followed by the gradual build-up back into blistering noise that follows also shows that Harsh have a quiet side. Please note, however, that the quiet side lasts for less than twenty seconds!
‘Cut and Shut’ is the weakest of the four songs on the CD, lacking the motivated drive of the opening two tracks. This momentary reprieve is soon dealt with in the fourth track; ‘The Thatcher Years’ sees the return to form with a frantic pace and over-powering guitars.
This EP appears to be fast and hard garage-rock, but there are some moments in the music and in the lyrics that set it apart from simply noisy and quick; it’s noisy, quick, and bloody good.
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