GAAAAH! New Atlantis, I’m so sorry we lost touch because you recently made my month. So much top-tier stuff in 2014 alone, much less the last few years. I always wonder where they find their talent. U Sco? What the fuck kind of band name is that? All is answered once the needle hits the crevices of Treffpunkt and those churning piles of bass, drums, and guitar rip through your pulsating woofers. I don’t want to oversell the aggression, because U Sco can go softer and even a littly jazz-ish, but the modus operandi is absolute peanut butter-jelly SQUISH-SQUASH with these fellas. Lots of little flourishes and playful winks, with a hint of speed-dose up and Up and UPPP!!! I hate referencing Don Caballero twice in one week but there it is; also Omar Rodriguez-Lopez (old solo stuff), Upsilon Acrux; you know, the regulars. I figured Mick Barr would be a good call as a reference, guitar-wise, though this guy plays his six-string closer to the vest, investing in linear riffs and breaks while fulfilling his rhythmic duties aptly. The bassist gets a little flashy, but I’ll forgive it because I’m a drummer; if I were a bassist I’d be suckin’ this guy’s dick. Oh, and that’s the thing: The drummer absolutely SHREDS up his kit like a chopped lettuce salad and tops it all off with atmosphere when need-be. These Portland boys, they just don’t stop, it seems, as every time I turn around there’s another noteworthy metal/indie/noise/etc. band emerging from the rainiest damn city I’VE ever dealt with.
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