Since noise rock was initially spun off from punk in the 80s, it’s safe to assume its practitioners couldn’t give a damn about fitting in or whatever the modus operandi du jour may be. Couple that with the fact that noise rock is a, for the most part, sincere and realistic representation of day to day life—warts, grit, grime, and all—for whoever wields its powers properly and you’ve got but a couple of the reasons why the genre is one of my favorites of the more extreme side of things. Michigan’s Bronson Arm dazzled with their self titled debut only a year ago and are back with a bigger, bolder, and more aggressive beast on Casket Schwagg. 

I say the band’s debut “dazzled” because it was not only an excellent noise rock record that touched all the ‘landmarks’ it should (distortion, atonality, and minimalism) but also because the duo were 100% unafraid to step outside the confines of the genre and take some chances with melody and catchy as hell pop structures. And, it all worked extremely well. “Conscious Confuser” was equal parts Nirvana and Big Black while “One With The Floor” oozed early ‘00s alt-metal and Melvins heft but then a track like “His Ilk” came out of left field like some jam band high on acid that deals in knives instead of ‘shrooms. It’s these chances they took that had the biggest payoffs but also ended up equaling a greater total sum in the end than just the best pieces.

Casket Schwagg begs the question: “yea but what if, in addition to all that, we make it way more aggressive this time out?” And the answer is seemingly rhetorical—hell yes. Opener “Permitted To Be Omitted” sets out to prove it with a guitar tone savage enough to call out prime era Iommi for a duel and drums that hit harder than Britain Hart. With the melodic riff line that sews the track together and the hefty vocals that keeps things grounded in harsh reality, Bronson Arm are back, and in fighting form.

From there, the title track is an anthemic, foot stomping, fire starter of electrified noise rock while “To Live Deliciously” is a super minimalistic venom spitting bomb of adrenaline soaked, punk energy. Then “Supine Twist” lands and it’s like going back in time to some back beach 60s surf rock bar, putting a cigarette out in someone’s boat drink, then knocking them clean off their chair. As if the band hasn’t tread enough territory by this point, “Flaming Pram” goes from a distortion laden doom jam to a straight ahead arena ready banger. Following that is the all out fun and upbeat attitude of “Drain The Coffer” which seriously worms its way in the brain and stays there for days, trust me. 

I could go on and on about how much I think Bronson Arm has really come into their own on this sophomore outing but the closing two tracks do a better job than I ever could explaining it. This is noise rock for those who love the genre but also for those who are adventurous and enjoy hearing something fresh and new. This duo knows how to play around with a tried and true recipe without losing the hard working, loner energy the genre is at its best displaying. 

I’ve always said that noise rock, sludge, and the blues are about as true of music genres as you can get as they all, for the most part, closely mirror real life struggles, hardships, annoyances, grievances, loss, hope, and every other struggle from the bottom emotion there is. Any band that can convey that realism while giving its listeners an excellent escape, even if only for a half hour, is a band that needs to be saved and cherished at all costs. Bronson Arm is that band and Casket Schwagg is that album. Plus, it’s just a damn good, seedy, fun album. Hell. Yes.

— Josh

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Casket Schwagg will be available May 9 on Learning Curve Records. For more information on Bronson Arm, visit their Linktree.