Review: Bright Calm Blue

Bright Calm Blue
“Asymmetry Set”
(Divot)

Should one be overcome with an uneasy sense of foreboding when opening a jewel case and coming face to face with a lengthy passage from Henry Miller’s seminal opus, Tropic of Cancer? If the fact that Bright Calm Blue’s staffed by a group of book-wormy pedants wasn’t enough to bury this album from the get-go, the painful screech of “North Bottoms” opening lyrical barrage only goes further to galvanize this album’s despicability. While the cacophonous guitar wreckage and heathenry drumming hold a degree of euphony, these assets are lost beneath the brutal caterwauling of Ian, BCB’s lead singer and the dastardly villain behind this record’s future as a beer coaster in most listener’s living rooms. While the liner notes implore the listener to “Please play this record loud,” the only way you’ll want to play this disc is over your great grandmother’s earphones as you’re trying to make some headway into her generation or so worth of waxy buildup. And even then, she’ll probably pull the phones from her wrinkly, liver spotted forehead and beat you about the face and neck with them for torturing a helpless old lady.