Terrestrial Seethings is the latest release by Black Pus, the solo project of Lightning Bolt drummer/vocalist/album cover artist/noisemaker Brian Chippendale. You’d be hard pressed to find a better percussionist on the planet, playing at the exact knife-edge meeting point of speed, strength and blind aggression all whilst spewing mangled vocal lines from behind a patchwork mask. As a result, Chippendale has not only seen his duo with Brian Gibson – Lightning Bolt – rise to legend status on the frenetic edge of noise-rock alongside acts like Melt-Banana but has also drummed on albums by Ty Segall and Bjork. That’s not to mention, of course, Black Pus, which has seen Brian hone his end of the Lightning Bolt brew into a one-man audio onslaught. Terrestrial Seethings is no exception.
There’s a pretty solid group of noise-rock bands kicking about today; newer bands like Chat Pile, Gilla Band and Couch Slut offering their angle on it – with Black Midi’s debut album Schlagenheim in the not-too-distant past – and legends like Jesus Lizard and Melt-Banana still putting out killer records. This is all to say that for a new Black Pus record to sound this exciting is all the more impressive. ‘Ping Pong’ pulls no punches in its opening moments, immediately bursting in with a blast of electro-static noise. Chippendale’s vocals are about as legible as they’ll ever get, not as garbled by a pedal chain as they’d usually be. The rhythm is tight without ever feeling rigid, maintaining that movement and chaos that is his trademark. ‘Ping Pong’ is an opener comparable to turning your shower on only to be met with a stream of highly corrosive acid. It’s a caustic wakeup call that whatever you’ve been listening to is markedly safer than this.
‘Hungry Animal’ follows, with this glue-trap synth line that’s nigh on impossible to unstick from your brain. The main riff helps anchor the whole thing so that when it dives off the deep end later on it feels all the more rewarding. Descending into a warping noise-and-drum breakdown near the end, Chippendale’s vocals phase in and out above the unfurling chaos in a way that’s a little more familiar than the opening track’s vocal clarity. ‘So Deep’ centres around percussive synth strikes that remind me a bit of Death Grips or something in that vein. The drumming takes a more subdued tone to compliment this as Chippendale sings like a crooner being struck with 3000 volts of electricity. With space-blaster synth squeals and the drums beginning to shake free their constraints, the track contains everything I love about the Black Pus project and shows the full breadth of Chippendale’s talent.
‘Mark My Word’ is less unrelenting with its pace, and whilst it’d be a bit funny to call it meditative it definitely gives you a minute to breathe before rising into insanity across its seven minutes. ‘Celestial Seethings’ has a real driving force behind it, with almost a dance music feel – irradiated alien, incomprehensible dance music if anything, like a dance track that had stared into the eye of a Lovecraftian elder god, but still. It’s punky, gnarled and vicious but still one of my standout tracks, even if it is one of the more consistent and less unhinged cuts on the record.
‘Gothic Socks’ makes up for that in turn. Unapologetically abrasive and unpredictable, it only offers up a melody in its closing half as a treat for running with its extra-terrestrial ramblings. I mean all of that as a compliment, by the way. ‘Wide Asleep’ is the most conventional track on the album, and that’s certainly a statement in and of itself. It has that dancey pulse but without much of the grit and abstraction of ‘Celestial Seethings’, taking its time to get to the more familiar Black Pus fury. It’s not bad by any stretch of the imagination, it’s just a track I’m less compelled to return to amongst some really cool material.
‘Terrestrial Heathens’ opens with siren-like bellowing, before falling into what sounds like trying to play circus tunes on a drum kit that’s falling down a staircase. Chippendale has some real animal grunting on this one and I love it. I really appreciate him being able to not only go off the rails but abolish the concept of rails. It might not always result in a track that is amongst my favourites but there is a real sense of this record being a guy in his room – or his attic, as the notable clip of this project (Black Pus in his Hilarious Attic on YouTube) would suggest – goofing around and making music he enjoys playing.
This album might not be all homeruns, but it is really fun. I’ve always liked Black Pus less than Lightning Bolt, but the things I’ve always loved about this project are omni-present and this record is no exception. It’s playful and indulges that childlike wonder of running a load of weird synths and pedals and just expressing with everything you have. Like his visual art, it’s colourful and cartoony, weird and constantly expressive. Put ‘Terrestrial Seethings’ on for a good time, it’s testament to the fact that adults should play more, and with a real sense of reckless abandon at that.
Black Pus: Terrestrial Seethings – Out 18 October 2024 (Thrill Jockey)
