Tropical Trash - UFO Rot (2015)

"What we have here is UFO Rot, the whopping new LP from Louisville, KY trio TROPICAL TRASH. The neo-skuzz-punks are readying their debut album to be released in unison by Load Records in the US and Riot Season in the UK later this month.

This Louisville crew previously dropped a couple of 7″ records on Sophomore Lounge (ran by Tropical Trash member Ryan Davis), not to mention a handful of other cassettes and CDs since 2010. As far as their sound goes, these guys keep their focus as straightforward as possible, at times stretching things out and getting spacey and experimental, but mostly sticking to the grunge-coated pipeline of metal-influenced punk rock. UFO Rot delivers 9 sludge-flavored tracks, most of which fall between 2-3 minutes apiece save for two 8+ minute doom-punk dirges.

For the tracks executed as short, sharp bursts of fury, each is dipped in a hot vat of tar and seared until they form a crunchy outer crust. That said, this nasty little album appeals to all of the senses in the gnarliest of ways. Percussion refuses to do anything but stampede forward, backed by thick, buzzing bass and the weight of hook-heavy guitar slime. Vocals are spewed out as raspy, spit-drenched growls, all stirred together to create this fuming pile of garbage that’s already doused in gasoline and ready to explode into a roaring fire.

“New Flesh” sets the tone with a pounding rhythm and blown-out guitar noise, setting up their rowdy pace as they go from 0 to 60 in the snap of a finger. Self-titled track “UFO Rot” unfolds as an aggressive anthem with spoken-word vocals and an unrelenting, can-opening beam of guitar fuzz. There’s a metal-inflected solo woven in, coming off as stressed and evil as possible. “Leisure Exposure” is another crushing entry on the LP, angrily tossing you into a guitar-fueled breakdown that will flatten you like a steamroller. “Pink Sweat” is the monstrous LP closer, leaning on an improvisational and experimental strand of doom-metal punk scum that will have you cowering in the darkest corner of the dungeon this trio trapped you in."