Since The Misfits turned into a somewhat sad parody of themselves, there hasn’t really been a band willing to reinsert the 50s horror schlock back into punk. There certainly hasn’t been an example of an album pulling it off quite as successfully as Astraphobia in my mind, filled as it is with cinematic scope and a genuine sense of humour.
‘Mad Mortician Murphy’ is a stomping ride through a haunted house, packed with familiar imagery and Nick Bulpitt’s atmospherically sneering vocal performance pervades the whole album like a bloodstain, fitting the themes perfectly. Tongue resides firmly in cheek throughout, but that doesn’t detract from the fact that ‘Plan 9.5′ is a gloriously hammy song with a criminally catchy chorus that would fit seamlessly with anything from The Rocky Horror Show. There’s a fairly big chance that you’ll write Placidstorm off immediately as some kind of joke band but peer beyond the monster/alien thing and there’s a wealth of talent here.
‘Last Lullaby’ could be The Misfits as it pummels through a punishing hardcore structure, fuzzed guitars colliding with Tim’s driving bass that signals a heavier sound for the band that contrasts with the ominous melodies in ‘Me = Paranoid’ to give a richer, more unique edge. Astraphobia is an impressively diverse album within its own style – even though no two of the songs sound alike musically, there’s a definite thread and coherent sound that is admirable in its enduring nature. ‘PS This Is The End’ shifts gears easily from brooding, stripped back vacancy to a full crunching cascade of noise that somehow feeds smoothly into ‘Hollow Dreams’ with its almost country-esque bassline and squall of rhythm guitar. It really is impressive how many different styles are invoked during Astraphobia without dipping too closely into any one of them, making it a really full album that swerves from hardcore to catchy melody to that familiar 50s film vibe.
There won’t be many more unique albums released this year, but that shouldn’t mean that Astraphobia is bracketed into the section marked ‘Fans Only’ since there are several examples of Placidstorm superseding the horrorcore (made up genre alert) that appears to be their ‘thing’. It’s a strong collection of songs that work superbly as an album, complimenting each other and evidently having a lot of thought going into them without appearing contrived or pretentious. That’s what most appeals to me, the fact that Placidstorm are taking a theme and sticking to it without gorging themselves on imagery or being too obtuse, and they deserve to carve themselves a sizeable niche on the basis of Astraphobia.
Ben
www.catncakeyrecords.com