The Catalyst “Marianas Trench +9” CD

The latest release from The Catalyst—which is actually my first exposure to the band, despite the fact that they're from right here in Richmond, VA—is "Marianas Trench +9", released by The Perpetual Motion Machine. The disc collects their tracks from the "Marianas Trench" one-sided 12" EP, their split 12" with Mass Movement of the Moth, and their split 7" with the Brainworms, for a grand total of 13 songs in about 42 minutes. What's it like? Good question. Wacky song titles like "This Bike is a Gravity Bong", "Smoke Crack Worship Satan", and "Jesus Garcia", among others, might suggest a certain air of chaos or, well, humor, but... that's really not the case at all. The lyrics are actually quite serious and seamlessly fuse the personal with the political—or the political via the personal, etc.—and musically there's a hell of a lot going on, so they've really done a nice job of creating somewhat of an uncategorizable amalgamation of sounds.

There is a little bit of a chaotic thing happening to a degree, but part of that's simply due to the sheer variety of influences swirling around within the tracks, and how frequently they change things up. It's weird, but it's not necessarily all over the place or anything like that, there's definitely a sense of control. They effortlessly transition from tactfully abrasive noise rock into loose, quirky indie riffs; there's thick, grungy, fuzzed out rhythms and sludgy feedback aplenty; plus throbbing basslines and pounding, bashing percussion; while the vocals are generally lightly distorted shouts and screams. Hell, there are even some spacey post-rock types of passages happening, with lots of droning effects and noisescape "leads" that all sort of bleed into some kind of fucked up 70's prog rock vibe or something. Like I said, it's weird. The label has said, "Recommended for fans of Karp, Nirvana, Melvins, Pg.99, etc.", and I could see that. Oddly enough I can hear some Nirvana tucked away in there, just dirtier and more fucked up... which could explain the Melvins mention and such. I don't know, I think it's cool shit, so see what you think?

The Catalyst "This Bike is a Gravity Bong"
The Catalyst "Born With a Buzz"
The Catalyst "Three Ring Binder as Makeshift Monster"

I want to know what we think we are accomplishing. We're all just playing our roles. You'll make up reasons, I'll be left speechless. I think you're missing the point. You'll wash your hands of it, just like you always do. Parasites personified. Redefine the compromise. Paralyzed, internalized, stupefy, lobotomize. Ringworm in my stomach. You'd settle for less, you'd settle for nothing. Hands in your pockets, alert for alarm. There's no cause for alarm, no cause for alarm. Punch me in the face, please. Thank you. Found out early on, hate can be a useful thing. But I never found a use for it. Laugh first so no one can laugh at you. You and me, we'll never change, we'll only grow more cynical. Never quite together, but never far apart. I still think you're missing the point.

The Perpetual Motion Machine
Robotic Empire
RevHQ
iTunes (mp3)