[Click play above to stream the new split between Heavy Traffic and The Mad Doctors in its entirety. Seven-inch is out Sept. 22 via Twin Earth Records and King Pizza Records.]

It’s a quick one, but there’s enough cacophony in the split between Heavy Traffic and The Mad Doctors to make a larger impression than its seven-minute runtime might lead you to believe. The two New York-based bands pair up for a mini-platter with the cooperation of their respective labels, Twin Earth Records and King Pizza Records, and really, that’s about where the cooperation ends. From the point of its existence onward, the split is much more about brash noisemaking than being friendly, though both bands certainly seem to be having a good time. Maybe “mischief” is the right word. Yeah. It’s like if the night before Halloween was a two-song sampler of what these groups have to offer; as though a release might somehow throw rolls of toilet paper into the tree in your front yard or egg your car. Take that, suburbia.

Pressed in an edition of 500 copies with smaller numbers on clear (150), gold (150) and black (200) vinyl, the split brings one song each from Heavy Traffic and The Mad Doctors, both of whom are following up on relatively new releases. In the case of the four-piece Heavy Traffic, their sixth full-length, Plastic Surgery (review here), was issued late in 2016 via Twin Earth, and the 4:44 of “Daylight Ripoff” begins side A with a fervent charge that answers the heavy psychedelic blister-raising they proffered with the album, which was the debut of the lineup that found guitarist Ian Caddick and drummer/vocalist/cover-artist Tav Palumbo — both formerly of Santa Cruz, California, blowout psych-gazers Spanish Moss — joined by bassist Dave Grzedzinski and drummer Dan Bradica (which presumably moved Palumbo to guitar/vocals, though don’t quote me on that).

Whether or not “Daylight Ripoff” was recorded at the same time as Plastic Surgery or under similar live-tracked conditions, I don’t know, but it’s certainly a believable. The song begins with just a momentary wail of feedback before lurching forth with a blast and wash alike, melodic vocals topping a thrust that could just as easily have come from modern black metal as heavy psych. It’s a surprising way to begin, and no doubt that’s exactly what Heavy Traffic had in mind. About 20 seconds in, they find their footing a prog-metallic churn of intertwining guitars at 53 seconds, they slam on the brakes to hit into a Sabbathian lumber that will slow even further as they hit the second minute, maintaining a spaciousness and fuzzed tonality as it nods itself seemingly into oblivion. The “but wait — there’s more!” moment happens just before the three-minute mark when they bring back the melodious assault that began “Daylight Ripoff” and cycle through it and the more angular riffing again before a distant lead echoes out behind tense chug and a build on the toms in the last minute.

This fades out relatively quickly and relatively noisily and “Daylight Ripoff” seems like anything but as it ends having been marked by its dizzying tempo changes and drawn together through the vague but resonant vocals laid over its shifting bulk. One might be tempted to call it a kitchen-sink approach, but Heavy Traffic keep the arrangement to their two guitars, bass, drums and voice, even if those common elements are put to uncommonly madcap use. In relation to Plastic Surgery, “Daylight Ripoff” feels altogether more unhinged than groove-rolling cuts like “Rule of Nines” or “Three Stigmata,” and whether its punkish refusal to settle into a pace or method is indicative of an overall shift in direction on the part of the band or just a one-off experiment in style and/or structure, it’s impossible to say, but the weirdo vibe suits Heavy Traffic well. If “Daylight Ripoff” is them continuing to refine and explore options with their approach and this relatively new lineup, one can hardly argue with either the variety or the intensity with which they deliver.

Though their inclusion is shorter and more straightforward, The Mad Doctors hardly come across as subdued upon the flip to side B. Their cleverly-titled “Yuengling Malmsteen” checks in at 2:57 and is the first new music they’ve had out since their earlier-2017 sophomore full-length, No Waves, Just Sharks (discussed here). The trio of guitarist/vocalist/recording engineer Seth Applebaum, bassist Joshua Park and drummer Greg Hanson, who also runs King Pizza Records, employed a few guests throughout that album for vocals and had spoken word samples peppered throughout as they shifted between surf punk and heavier impulses, crafting a rare union in atmosphere that actually worked without being either overly punkish, overly surfish, or a crude amalgam of desert and garage, while still sounding impressively off the rails and unpredictable — it really was something, if you didn’t hear it — but here it’s just the three of them and they once again adjust the balance.

“Yuengling Malmsteen” doesn’t feel intended to be a summary of The Mad Doctors‘ sound as a whole — I suspect it would have at least as tough a time in providing that summary as I just did — so much as a quick-burst showcase of their craft in general. Its push begins with a deceptive jangle before unveiling a full tonal boar moving at a crisp tempo that shortly opens to the first verse. Momentum is held in Hanson‘s drums throughout and before the first minute is done, The Mad Doctors have trod through the verse and chorus both in shoving, party-time fashion. Not a moment is wasted, but “Yuengling Malmsteen” doesn’t necessarily feel stripped down either — vocals are soaked in reverb and the guitar and bass are both weighted and present a depth of tone, the former particularly with a quick-but-drawn lead around two minutes in that shimmers before a final chorus takes hold to drive the song to its somewhat understated finish. The thickened thrust that kicks in before each verse proves especially righteous, and “Yuengling Malmsteen” is primarily about motion and its own forward drive, which it fulfills while giving the sense that if one just continued to let the record play, Applebaum, Park and Hanson would be on to the next track in no time at all.

Of course, that’s not the case, but in each band giving listeners a look at what they do, Heavy Traffic and The Mad Doctors both acquit themselves well in terms of songwriting and style without necessarily sounding like they’re competing with one another in the way of splits with groups more sonically akin. That’s not to say they don’t have anything in common, just that while both show a strong sense of personality on this short release, those personalities are distinct enough that there’s never going to be any confusion about who it is saying what with their material. Heavy Traffic raise a few questions as to where they might be headed and The Mad Doctors reaffirm the deceptive depth of their latest album, and among the traits the two bands share is a clear efficiency with which this is accomplished. Like I said at the outset, it’s over and done in about seven minutes.

Heavy Traffic on Thee Facebooks

Heavy Traffic on Bandcamp

The Mad Doctors on Thee Facebooks

The Mad Doctors on Bandcamp

Twin Earth Records webstore

King Pizza Records webstore