The self-titled debut full-length from Blurring is, by definition, grindcore. But in reality, it’s an angular attack on the senses with its volatile concoction of noise, grind and an altogether nasty attitude. With a couple of familiar names onboard— including Danny Lilker on bass and Erik Burke on drums—you should get a sense of what’s to come. And as lyrics like “your last word a gasp, your last gasp a cough” pummeling throughout, you realize that if there ever was a crazy train, this album is your ticket to board the insanity that awaits. 

The first time through, you’ll sense the hurricane of epic proportions that this album creates, but on each successive listen, I’ve found myself entrenched in its ethos, particularly the way its dirty, grungy feel plays over the psyche. It makes the album feel unclean, almost “off-limits”—particularly during the latter half of “The Devil I Know,” when the song’s grinding pace slows slightly and the guitars break out into a higher-pitched, rhythm-less noodle-fest. The song hits you in waves, shuffling between your ear drums left and right ear along with a drenching hiss of feedback set far back in the mix. As soon as you start to bottom out in the depths of sanity—and believe me, you will—the grinding tempo returns to kick you back into gear.

As you might expect, Burke keeps the blast beats steady and punishing throughout, never once skipping a lick for the whole of the album. The vocals are all over the place but for the most part stick to a caustic, screaming tone befitting of such an outing. They follow the ups, downs, twists and turns of the band’s sonic backdrop perfectly.

The short instrumental track, “Rape Van,” is the noise showpiece of the album, with its screeching guitar chords, crashing cymbals and deep, throbbing bass lines from Lilker. As the title suggests, this track is downright nasty—a downtrodden stopgap to the remaining utterly note-perfect three tracks that close out the album.

By all accounts, Blurring should eventually derail, but in fact, it does quite the opposite. The band successfully executes its noise / grind hybrid sound, all the while leaving listeners feeling like a raw nerve’s been cut and ripped out. I definitely dig what this band has done here, and with as filthy a racket as they’ve made on this debut, I can only imagine what’s in store for the future.

-Josh

Blurring is available now on Handshake Inc. For more information on Blurring, visit the band’s Facebook page.