(apparently I forgot to publish this review after I wrote it. oops.)Black Flag need no real introduction - especially from a 20-something kid from the New York countryside. Chances are, if you like pretty much anything on this blog, you like or are at least aware of Black Flag and the impact they had on punk rock; namely, helping to pioneer hardcore punk, creating one of the most dark and idiosyncratic punk albums ever with Damaged, and then unapologetically following their own muse for years despite alienating much of their original audience. The EP in the upper left corner is a product of the latter phase, and one of the two most consistently discredited albums they ever released. Since I happen to like it a lot, I figure at the end of days, when I've left my corporal body and stand at the gates of an other-wordly utopia, I'll finally be able to cash in this golden ticket of indie cred for never-ending, constantly infatuating pleasure. Or at least, that's my theory on the reasoning behind hip youths smugly dismissing peers and subtly self-aggrandizing using the hard work of musicians and artists they've never met. I mean, come on, why else would they do it?
Now it's no secret that I like way out there bullshit about as much as punk (check out my old blog as testament), so The Process Of Weeding Out works as a happy medium. Instead of taking the hardcore, Sabbath-y sludge, or dopey heavy metal route, the band decided to further explore the sort of raw, quasi-jazz damaged improv-rock they inhabited the B-side of Family Man with. If you're not familiar with Family Man, it actually does deserve a lot of the dismissal it gets. The first side features Henry doing some pretty excruciating spoken word, but if you didn't immediately take it off the table when the needle stung the center, the B-side is actually pretty good. Not as good as this, though, [redundancy]which is why I'm reviewing it of course[/redundancy]. Sorry, I'm tired.
Anyway, The Process Of Weeding Out is 4 tracks clocking in at a little under a half hour, and features Greg Ginn in peak "losing his shit" form, letting lose a flood of messy, stinging guitar improv on top of a somewhat more composed selection of bass and drum grooves. When I first heard this, I was kinda disappointed that Ginn didn't really get more aggressive, but after a few listens, it began to make more sense. There's a lot of repetition here, especially in the title track, but the loose playing style keeps everything sounding fresh and hypnotic throughout. If you're an established fan of the band, you know they always take a while to sink in, and this is no exception - it sounds like Black Flag regardless of how different the material is.
http://www.mediafire.com/?bzzyhqztmju
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