Posted in Whathaveyou on February 21st, 2022 by JJ Koczan
It doesn’t seem to me that Human Impact, despite having a couple releases under their collective belt at this point, have gotten the chance to be the band they were meant to be as yet. By which I mean they haven’t really been able to tour and not look back or get into an album-cycle-ish groove in terms of patterning out recordings and shows across however long and on whatever scale they’re looking for. Their first European tour is significant as befits veterans of acts like Swans, Unsane and Cop Shoot Cop, [EDIT Feb. 21: Apparently Phil Puleo and Chris Pravdica are out of the band and have been replaced by current members of Unsane.] and they’ve just added new dates to the stint, which I’m pretty sure was supposed to happen either early last year or late the year before who the hell can even remember and what does it matter by now anyway.
Point is, as these guys head abroad, it feels somewhat overdue. They’ve done more than one show now, true, but it’ll always be a bit of trivia that the first Human Impact show supporting their self-titled debut (review here) was in March 2020 right before the lockdown hit. And they only got to do the one. Timing is everything, folks. Stop me if you’ve heard that one before. You have.
From the PR wire:
HUMAN IMPACT, THE NEW YORK BAND FEATURING MEMBERS OF COP SHOOT COP, UNSANE AND SWANS, ANNOUNCE FURTHER DATES TO THEIR FIRST EUROPEAN TOUR
TICKETS ON SALE: https://www.ipecac.com/tours/
Human Impact, the New York-based band featuring Jim Coleman (Cop Shoot Cop), Chris Spencer (Unsane), Chris Pravdica (Swans) and Phil Puleo (Cop Shoot Cops/Swans), have announced further shows to their first European tour – check out full listings below, including recently announced shows at Hellfest and two dates with Jawbox.
About the tour the band comments, “We are really excited to bring the live Human Impact experience to Europe and the UK as the world hopefully staggers towards a new endemic normalcy. Though we’ve been continuing to record over the past two years, the live shows have been a long time in the making. We look forward to playing for you all live and in person!”
Their self-titled debut album arrived on the eve of the pandemic back in March 2020, which received much critical acclaim and landed them the front cover of New Noise Magazine France. Human Impact followed up with an eight-song EP, dubbed EP01 a year later in March 2021 which featured a mix of singles and unreleased B-sides that were recorded simultaneously to the debut album.
2022 TOUR DATES 31/05/22 : Sonic Morgue @ Kuppelhalle/Silent Green – Berlin (DE) ** 01/06/22 : Meetfactory – Prague (CZ) ** 02/06/22 : Fluc – Vienna (AT) ** 04/06/22 : Sunset Bar – Martigny (CH) ** 05/06/22 : Gebäude 9 – Köln (DE) ** 06/06/22 : Db’s – Utrecht (NL) ** 07/06/22 : Petit Bain – Paris (FR) 08/06/22 : Green Door Store – Brighton (UK) 09/06/22 : 100 Club – London (UK) 10/06/22 : Deaf Institute – Manchester (UK) 11/06/22 : The Brudenell Social Club – Leeds (UK) 12/06/22 : Garage (Attic) – Glasgow (UK) 13/06/22 : Whelans – Dublin (IE) 15/06/22 : Exchange – Bristol (UK) 17/06/22 : Trix – Antwerpen (BE) (+ Jawbox) 18/06/22 : Paradiso – Amsterdam (NL) (+ Jawbox) 19/06/22 : Mezz – Breda (NL) 20/06/22 : Botanique – Brussels (BE) 21/06/22 : Paard – Den Haag (NL) ** 22/06/22 : Grand Mix – Tourcoing (FR) 24/06/22 : Hellfest – Clisson (FR) 25/06/22 : Nadir – Bourges (FR) 26/06/22 : La Ferronerie – Pau (FR) 27/06/22 : Sye electric – Gigors et Lozeron (FR) ** 28/06/22 : Tannerie – Bourg en Bresse (FR) 29/06/22 : Sedel – Lucerne (CH) ** 30/06/22 : SoloMacello @ Bloom – Mezzago (IT) ** 01/07/22 : RCCB – Rome (IT) ** 02/07/22 : Freakout – Bologna (IT) ** **New additions
HUMAN IMPACT is Chris Spencer (Unsane, UXO): Vocals/Guitar Jim Coleman (Cop Shoot Cop): Electonics Chris Pravdica (Swans, Xiu Xiu): Bass Phil Puleo (Cop Shoot Cop, Swans): Drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 19th, 2021 by JJ Koczan
First, blah blah, it’s nice to see a list of tour dates. Specifically, it’s nice to see Human Impact, who released their self-titled debut (review here) in March 2020 and did one gig before the shutdown, get out and about. Third, it’s nice to see venues like Metro Gallery, Kung Fu Necktie, The Pyramid Scheme and so on resurface having in one way or the other weathered the hard times that were and may yet be again, depending on variants, vaccinations, politics, whatever else. Thinking about that last part I guess isn’t so nice.
But hey, the bulk of the news here is good. Given just how ‘New York’ Human Impact are, speaking aesthetically as well as in geography, I’m curious to know how they play to other regions, but certainly their pedigree precedes them, blah blah Unsane, Cop Shoot Cop, Swans, blah blah. You don’t need me to tell you about it, I’m sure.
The PR wire has dates and at the bottom you’ll find the stream of EP01, a compilation Human Impact released in March of this year, as well as their video for “Recognition” from it.
Here you go:
HUMAN IMPACT ANNOUNCE DEBUT U.S. TOUR
SELF-TITLED DEBUT ALBUM FROM MEMBERS OF UNSANE, COP SHOOT COP & SWANS ARRIVED IN MARCH 2020
Human Impact, the noise rock MVPs featuring Jim Coleman (Cop Shoot Cop), Chris Spencer (Unsane), Chris Pravdica (Swans, Xiu Xiu) and Phil Puleo (Cop Shoot Cop, Swans), have announced a U.S. tour kicking off on Nov. 26 at Brooklyn’s Market Hotel.
“After our debut album being released on the eve of pandemic lockdown, we are extremely happy to finally get out and start doing some live shows,” says Coleman of the band’s debut U.S. trek. “We love our recorded material, but Human Impact is meant to be experienced live and in person. This fall US tour will kick off an ongoing effort to tour through the US and Europe through 2021 and 2022.”
Human Impact issued their self-titled debut album via Ipecac Recordings in March of 2020. A tour was due to follow a week later. The foursome eked out one live performance before the international lockdowns began: March 14 at Brooklyn’s Saint Vitus, in what would be the venerable venue’s final pre-COVID performance as well.
In March of this year, Human Impact released the eight-song EP01. The EP features a mix of singles and unreleased B-sides that were recorded simultaneously to the debut album. A video for the track “Recognition” (https://youtu.be/lwYh9W1RYxA) arrived simultaneously. The vinyl version of EP01 arrives on Aug. 13.
Human Impact tour dates: November 26 Brooklyn, NY Market Hotel November 27 Baltimore, MD Metro Gallery November 28 Philadelphia, PA Kung Fu Necktie November 30 Pittsburgh, PA Club Café December 1 Indianapolis, IN HiFi December 2 Detroit, MI PJ’s Lager House December 3 Grand Rapids, MI The Pyramid Scheme December 4 St. Louis, MO Off Broadway Night Club December 5 Kansas City, MO Record Bar December 6 Minneapolis, MN 7th Street Entry December 8 Chicago, IL Empty Bottle December 9 Louisville, KY Headliner’s Music Hall December 10 Newport, KY Southgate House Revival Room December 11 Cleveland, OH Grog Shop
Child Bite open on the Dec. 1 to 11 dates.
HUMAN IMPACT is Chris Spencer (Unsane, UXO): Vocals/Guitar Jim Coleman (Cop Shoot Cop): Electonics Chris Pravdica (Swans, Xiu Xiu): Bass Phil Puleo (Cop Shoot Cop, Swans): Drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 16th, 2021 by JJ Koczan
If you’re looking for ways to mark the one-year anniversary of COVID-19 shutdowns in America — and if you are… okay… — the release of Human Impact‘s 2020 self-titled debut (review here) seems as fitting as any I might offer. The band’s trenchant noise execution and severity were born of a range of other subjects but were nonetheless suited to the ferocious anxiety of that moment when everyone save for undervalued essential workers and complete assholes headed for quarantine. Over the course of 2020, Human Impact trickled out a few more singles, and those have now been assembled as EP01 with vinyl impending through Ipecac, who also released the album. Aug. 13 is the due date.
They call it an EP. Okay. It’s eight songs and somewhere around 40 minutes long, so take that as you will. “Contact,” “Genetic,” “10 Days” and “Subversion” were previously issued through Bandcamp, where now the entirety of EP01 can be streamed. Considering all this stuff was recorded at the same time as the debut, that was one hell of a session. Plenty of anthropocene downfall to document, I suppose. They’ll have no shortage of inspiration for their sophomore outing either.
From the PR wire:
HUMAN IMPACT RELEASE EP01 VIA IPECAC RECORDINGS
WATCH THE “RECOGNITION” VIDEO
Human Impact, the New York-based band featuring Jim Coleman (Cop Shoot Cop), Chris Spencer (Unsane), Chris Pravdica (Swans) and Phil Puleo (Cop Shoot Cops/Swan), have released an eight-song EP, dubbed EP01, via Ipecac Recordings.
A video for “Recognition” debuted this morning, with singer/guitar player Chris Spencer sharing the experience that sparked the song: “Do you ever feel like you’re being watched? The inspiration for ‘Recognition’ came from a time when I was at the Hong Kong International Airport. The track focuses on the advent of global surveillance and loss of personal privacy via facial recognition programs and data tracking. As our world becomes more connected we’re forfeiting our right to a private existence.”
The EP’s release arrives precisely one year after the band unveiled their self-titled debut, Human Impact. The new EP features a mix of singles and unreleased B-sides that were recorded simultaneously to the debut album. The foursome eked out one live performance before the international lockdowns began: March 14th at Brooklyn’s Saint Vitus, in what would be the venerable venue’s final pre-COVID performance as well.
Available now on all dsps (http://lnk.to/HumanEP01), EP01 is also available as a limited-edition clear vinyl pre-order via Ipecac’s webstore and Bandcamp. 1000 copies will be available worldwide with an August 13th release date.
EP01 track list: Recognition Genetic Sparrow Less Than Transist Contact 10 Days Subversion
HUMAN IMPACT is Chris Spencer (Unsane, UXO): Vocals/Guitar Jim Coleman (Cop Shoot Cop): Electonics Chris Pravdica (Swans, Xiu Xiu): Bass Phil Puleo (Cop Shoot Cop, Swans): Drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on June 29th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
Terminology hasn’t really caught up yet with modern the two-song release. The tradition, obviously, comes from a single’s A and B sides, and very often, that tradition is upheld, and a band releases a single as a 7″. As both songs on Human Impact‘s new foray, Transist / Subversion, run near/at six and a half minutes, they’re a little long to fit on a 7″, and unless they’re feeling cheeky and want to do an 8″ — they wouldn’t be first — and if they’re just leaving it digital, it is what it is. When it comes to this kind of thing, I like “two-songer.” Says what it is, gives the B-side a bit of validity, and lets the audience know they’re getting more than just a “single.” If you have to specify, you might as well be specific.
So hey, Human Impact have a new two-songer. It’s not an EP. It’s not just a single — the second track, “Subversion” is a noise wash but lacks nothing for substance in that — but for those who dug the band’s 2020 self-titled debut (review here), it’s an appreciated check-in from the corporeal-chaos noisemakers.
It’s pick-your-apocalypse these days, so we might as well take joy as it comes, huh? Here you go:
HUMAN IMPACT SHARE TWO STANDALONE SINGLES; “TRANSIST” AND “SUBVERSION”
Following the release of their debut self-titled album, Human Impact have been releasing brand new material, including the recent single, “Contact” which was written and recorded shortly before the outbreak of Covid-19. The band share two further standalone singles “Transist” and “Subversion.”
About these latest singles the band remark, “Transist” was from a group of songs that we recorded and mixed just prior to the current pandemic. The song is a reflection on what the world looks like as things fall apart. Our broken ideals, the unstable foundations of our civilization, our trusting dependence on technology and our subservience to the ruling governments/corporations. The shining object held up by society that will never be realized. All creating a pressing need for change.”
They continue, ““Subversion” emerged from a 30 minute intro from our last live show (on March 14). We started that show with a 30 minute improv noise/ambient set. All members of the band have varied histories in soundtrack work and scoring music to picture. We look forward to getting back to live shows and expanding on this more.”
HUMAN IMPACT is Chris Spencer (Unsane, UXO): Vocals/Guitar Jim Coleman (Cop Shoot Cop): Electonics Chris Pravdica (Swans, Xiu Xiu): Bass Phil Puleo (Cop Shoot Cop, Swans): Drums
Posted in Reviews on March 25th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
Ah, the Wednesday of a Quarterly Review. Always a special day in my mind. We hit and pass the halfway point today, and I like the fact that the marker is right in the middle of things, like that sign you pass in Pennsylvania on Rt. 80 that says, “this is the highest point east of the Mississippi,” or whatever it is. Just a kind of, “oh, by the way, in case you didn’t know, there’s this but you’re on your way somewhere else.” And so we are, en route to 50 reviews by Friday. Will we get there? Yeah, of course. I’ve done this like 100 times now, it’s not really in doubt. Sleeping, eating, living: these things are expendable. The Quarterly Review will get done. So let’s do it.
Quarterly Review #21-30:
The Cult of Dom Keller, Ascend!
They’re not going quietly, that’s for sure. Except for when they are, at least. The Cult of Dom Keller send their listeners — and, it would seem, themselves — into the howling ether on the exclamatory-titular Ascend!, their fifth LP. Issued through Cardinal Fuzz and Little Cloud records it brings a bevvy of freakouts in psych-o-slabs like “I Hear the Messiah” and the early-arriving “Hello Hanging Rope” and the building-in-thickness “The Blood Donor Wants His Blood Back,” and the foreboding buzz of “We’re All Fucked (Up),” peppering in effective ambient interludes ahead of what might be some resolution in the closing “Jam for the Sun.” Or maybe that’s just narrative I’m putting to it. Does it matter? Does anything matter? And what is matter? And what is energy? And is there a line between the two or are we all just playing pretend at existence like I-think-therefore-I-am might actually hold water in a universe bigger than our own pea-sized brains. Where do we go from here? Or maybe it’s just the going and not the where? Okay.
Brooklynite trio Grandpa Jack are working toward mastery of the thickened midtempo groove on their second EP, Trash Can Boogie. Led by guitarist/vocalist Johnny Strom with backing shouts from drummer Matt C. White and a suitable flow provided by bassist Jared Schapker, the band present a classic-tinged four tracks, showing some jammier psych range in the 7:47 second cut “Untold” but never straying too far from the next hook, as opener “Ride On, Right On” and the almost-proto-metal “Imitation” show. Finishing with “Curmudgeon,” Grandpa Jack ride a fine line between modern fuzz, ’90s melody and ’70s groove idolatry, and part of the fun is trying to figure out which side they’re on at any given point and which side they’ll want to ultimately end up on, or if they’ll decide at all. They have one LP under their collective belt already. I’d be surprised if their next one didn’t garner them more significant attention, let alone label backing, should they want it.
There’s metal in the foundation of what Woven Man are doing on their 2019 debut, Revelry (In Our Arms). And there’s paganism. But they’re by no means “pagan metal” at least in the understood genre terms. The Welsh outfit — featuring guitarist Lee Roy Davies, formerly of Acrimony — cast out soundscapes in their vocal melodies and have no lack of tonal crunch at their disposal when they want it, but as eight-minute opener/longest track (immediate points) shows, they’re not going to be rigidly defined as one thing or another. One can hear C.O.C. in the riffs during their moments of sneer on “I am Mountain” or the centerpiece highlight “With Willow,” but they never quite embrace the shimmer outright Though they come right to the cusp of doing so on the subsequent “Makers Mark,” but closer “Of Land and Sky” revives a more aggressive push and sets them toward worshiping different idols. Psychedelic metal is a tough, nearly impossible, balance to pull off. I’m not entirely convinced it’s what Woven Man are going for on this first outing, but it’s where they might end up.
Whether drifting mildly through the likes of drone-laden pieces “Down by the Water,” the CD-only title-track or “Alexandria” as they make their way toward the harsh bite at the end of the 11-minute closer “Scavengers of the Wind,” Bath, UK, heavy post-rockers Charivari hold a firm sense of presence and tonal fullness. They’re prone to a wash from leadoff “When Leviathan Dreams” onward, but it’s satisfying to course along with the four-piece for the duration of their journey. Rough spots? Oh, to be sure. “Aphotic” seethes with noisy force, and certainly the aforementioned ending is intended to jar, but that only makes a work like “Lotus Eater,” which ably balances Cure-esque initial lead lines with emergent distortion-crush, that much richer to behold. The moves they make are natural, unforced, and whether they’re trading back and forth in volume or fluidly, willfully losing themselves in a trance of effects, the organic and ethereal aspects of their sound never fail to come through in terms of melody even as a human presence is maintained on vocals. When “Down by the Water” hits its mark, it is positively encompassing. Headphones were built for this.
Bit of a supergroup here, at least in the underrated-New-York-art-noise sphere of things. Vocals and riffy crunch provided by the masterful Chris Spencer (formerly of Unsane), while Cop Shoot Cop‘s Jim Coleman adds much-welcome electronic flourish, Swans/Xiu Xiu bassist Chris Pravdica provides low end and the well-if-he-can-handle-drumming-for-Swans-he-can-handle-anything Phil Puleo (also Cop Shoot Cop) grounds the rhythm. Presented through Ipecac, the four-piece’s declarative self-titled debut arrives through Ipecac very much as a combination of the elements of which it is comprised, but the atmosphere brought to the proceedings by Coleman set against Spencer‘s guitar isn’t to be understated. The two challenge each other in “E605” and the off-to-drone “Consequences” and the results are to everyone’s benefit, despite the underlying theme of planetary desolation. Whoops on that one, but at least we get the roiling chaos and artful noise of “This Dead Sea” out of it, and that’s not nothing. Predictable? In parts, but so was climate change if anyone would’ve fucking listened.
The nautically-themed follow-up to Bellingham, Washington, progressive heavy/noise/post-hardcore rockers Dryland‘s 2017 self-titled debut album, the four-song Dances with Waves EP finds the thoughtful and melodic riffers working alongside producer/engineer Matt Bayles (Mastodon, Isis, etc.) on a recording that loses none of its edge for its deft changes of rhythm and shifts in vocals. There’s some influence from Elder maybe in terms of the guitar on “No Celestial Hope” and the finale “Between the Testaments,” but by the time the seven-minute capper is done, it’s full-on Pacific Northwest noise crunch, crashing its waves of riffs and stomp against the shore of your eardrums in demand of as much volume as you’ll give it. Between those two, “Exalted Mystics” moves unsuspectingly through its first half and seems to delve into semi-emo-if-emo-was-about-sailing-and-death theatrics in its second, while “The Sound a Sword Adores” distills the alternating drive and sway down to its barest form, a slowdown later setting up the madness soon to arrive in “Between the Testaments.”
Brass Owl foster on their self-released debut full-length, State of Mind, a brand of heavy rock that maintains a decidedly straightforward face while veering at the same time into influences from grunge, ’70s rock, the better end of ’80s metal and probably one or two current hard or heavy rock bands. You might catch a tinge of Five Horse Johnson-style blues on “No Filter – Stay Trendy” or the particularly barroom-ready “Jive Turkey,” which itself follows the funkier unfolding jam-into-shredfest of “The Legend of FUJIMO,” and the earlier “Hook, Line & Sinker” has trucker-rock all over it, but through it all, the defining aspect of the work is its absolute lack of pretense. These guys — there would seem to have been three when they recorded, there are two now; so it goes — aren’t trying to convince you of their intelligence, or their deep-running stylistic nuance. They’re not picking out riffs from obscure ’80s indie records or even ’70s private press LPs. They’re having a good time putting traditionalist-style rock songs together, messing around stylistically a bit, and they’ve got nine songs across 43 minutes ready to roll for anyone looking for that particular kind of company. If that’s you, great. If it ain’t, off you go to the next one.
From even before you press play on Press Start, the 22-minute debut release from South Africa’s Battle City, the instrumental duo make their love of gaming readily apparent. Given that they went so far as to call one song “Ram Man” and that it seems just as likely as not that “Ignition” and “Ghost Dimension” are video game references as well, it’s notable that guitarist/bassist Stian “Lightning Fingers Van Tonder” Maritz and drummer Wayne “Thunder Flakes” Hendrikz didn’t succumb to the temptation of bringing any electronic sounds to the six-song offering. Even in “Ghost Dimension,” which is the closer and longest track by about three minutes, they keep it decidedly straightforward in terms of arrangements and resist any sort of chiptune elements, sticking purely to guitar, bass and drums. There’s a touch of the progressive to the leadoff title-track and to the soaring lead “Ignotion,” but Press Start does likewise in setting the band’s foundation in a steady course of heavy rock and metal, to the point that if you didn’t know they were gaming-inspired by looking at the cover art or the titles, there’d be little to indicate that’s where they were coming from. I wouldn’t count myself among them, but those clamoring for beeps and boops and other 8-bit nonsense will be surprised. For me, the riffs’ll do just fine, thanks.
Spacious, varied and progressive without losing their heft either of tone or presence, Manchester, UK, trio Astral Bodies debut on Surviving Sounds with Escape Death, working mostly instrumentally — they do sneak some vocals into the penultimate “Pale Horse” — to affect an atmosphere of cosmic heavy that’s neither indebted to nor entirely separate from post-metal. Droning pieces like the introductory “Neptune,” or the joyous key-laced wash of the centerpiece “Orchidaeae,” or even “Pale Horse,” act as spacers between longer cuts, and they’re purposefully placed not to overdo symmetry so as to make Escape Death‘s deceptively-efficient 36-minute runtime predictable. It’s one more thing the three-piece do right, added to the sense of rawness that comes through in the guitar tone even as effects and synth seem to surround and provide a context that would be lush if it still weren’t essentially noise rock. Cosmic noise? The push of “Oumuamua” sure is, if anything might be. Classify it however you want — it’s fun when it’s difficult! — but it’s a striking record either way, and engages all the more as a first long-player.
Following its three-minute chanting intro, Satyrus let opener and longest track (immediate points) “Black Satyrus” unfold its cultish nod across an eight minutes that leads the way into the rest of their debut album, Rites, perhaps more suitably than the intro ever could. The building blocks that the Italian unit are working from are familiar enough — Black Sabbath, Saint Vitus, Electric Wizard, maybe even some Slayer in the faster soloing of second cut “Shovel” — but that doesn’t make the graveyard-dirt-covered fuzz of “Swirl” or the noisefest that ensues in “Stigma” or subsequent “Electric Funeral”-ist swing any less satisfying, or the dug-in chug of bookending nine-minute closer “Trailblazer.” Hell, if it’s a retread, at least they’re leaving footprints, and it’s not like Satyrus are trying to tell anyone they invented Tony Iommi‘s riff. It’s a mass by the converted for the converted. I’d ask nothing more of it than that and neither should you.
