Gentle Veincut “Concrete Landing” CD

"Concrete Landing" is the latest release from the absolutely awesome German outfit Gentle Veincut on French label Whosbrain Records. I'd really suggest reading my review of their prior self-released CD-R for a more in-depth description of their sound, as well as some background information on how I almost missed out on their incredible material (I was a bit harsh, but the intentions were only the best for these folks). But thankfully all of that's beside the point these days, so on with the show...

I'm not sure if they're billing "Concrete Landing" as a full-length or not, but it's only six tracks in 21 minutes, so it's an EP in my book. But it's also a fucking great EP that's jam packed with a continuation of Gentle Veincut's unique approach that I'd best describe as falling into the Amphetamine Reptile pool of discordant "noise rock": Complete with roving basslines and warm percussion, aptly rough-around-the-edges guitar textures, and fuckin' awesome female vocals that shift from straight yelling to harsher shouting and spoken passages that all work great to communicate the strangely narrative elements of the lyrical content. There's just something about the songwriting that this band delivers that totally hits the spot for me, which is interesting since I was never that big on this whole niche. But whether they're breaking down into a caustic and chaotic assault or easing into a more somber and melodic undercurrent, the fact remains: Gentle Veincut rules. This release leaves me fuckin' starving for more, and that's a great, great sign.

Gentle Veincut "Porthole View (For Ivica)"

While damn solid, that's not the strongest track on the disc, but it's such a short EP that I don't want to give away anything that the band and label don't already have out there (even in the interest of spreading the word), and they seem to be saving the best of the best for those who buy the disc. So please, please, please contact the band via MySpace or their website for ordering information if you'd like to get your hands on some of these jams. It's a damn shame that such excellent music can go so unnoticed here in the US (and elsewhere, for that matter), but such artists deserve your support!