Boston duo Test Meat formed back in late-2016—at the time a trio—but have since stripped down to just Darryl Shepard handling guitar/vocals and Michael Nashawaty on drums. An email about a week ago citing "RIYL: Tad, Helmet, Mudhoney" was enough to get me clickin', but let's face it: the fact that Shepard has also performed with Slapshot, Roadsaw, and the mighty Milligram (amongst others) certainly doesn't hurt!
Less than 90 minutes later, I had already purchased physical copies of the band's new full-length, Enjoy, and their 2018 7".
I've confessed before that I tend to be somewhat biased against guitar/drums duos, but hey, when it works, it works. And this shit works. No bass necessary! The drums are crisp and pack a punch, and the guitar tone is fucking phenomenal—all at once heavy, textured, and clear—a serious case study in excellent! Damn near every track runs less than three minutes packed with hard-hitting grungy/gravelly goodness with bits of melody, occasional hooks, some punk rockin' energy, and sludged-up heaviness aplenty. "Brunt" is a personal favorite, but there's more on offer, so be sure to get a feel for the variety through tunes like "Messed Up," "Speechless," and then some.
Peruse Enjoy digitally or via pro-duped digipack CD-R through Bandcamp, or stream it up on Spotify. Whatever the case, it's a damn fine near-half-hour of jams for a Friday afternoon, so check 'em out!
