Turtlenecked
Pure Plush Bone Cage
(Good Cheer Records)
It makes sense that a song entitled “Feline / Haunter” has a section of near absurd meowing finding a harmony to work with. I mean, I guess it makes sense? In context of Pure Push Bone Cage it makes perfect sense. The record by Turtlenecked feels like the musings of a man in the middle of a nervous breakdown, fiddling with far too many parts or songs. But that’s the point. Harrison Smith, the man behind the project, wanted to cram as many parts as possible into each tune. What we are left with is an album that feels on edge, and rightfully so.
Smith’s ‘ramblings’ are conveyed in both the lyrics and the rushed pace of the record. In a matter of minutes one could not be having Pure Plush Bone Cage play in the background, having listened to multiple songs in sequence. In that form of listening, it’s hard to decipher the ideas from each other because there are already an over abundance placed into each movement. Listening to “Paranoia In Context” has a disturbed rock vibe forming through the rather eerie atmosphere. From this song comes the meow’s in the previously mentioned song, which then transitions into a fuzzy garage rock tune “Vile.” On the latter we find Smith’s vocals shredding through screams, contextually different from the monotonous delivery found in other songs.
“Weakling” is sonically the most diverse song on in these short groupings, with the drums being replaced by synthesized processors, the vocals being on the higher range with repeated ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs.’ The frenetic pacing leaves the song hitting home without any real message, just an outlet for Smith to unleash the demons that entrenched themselves in his normal life, or something like that. “The Whip” is one battering assault of syncopated structures, albeit flying through multiple progressions, tying them with filthy sounding chords overtop the roaming drums.
After eleven short two minute tracks, what better way to end an anxiety ridden album that taking ten minutes of musical parts and combining them into one track? That’s exactly what Turtlenecked has as the record’s closer, feeling like a mixture of what was just played through the first two-thirds of the album but congested as one blatantly chaotic finisher. “The Elysian Fields Border Patrol” has lead guitars chopping through the main parts, drums rolling between the parts to breathe some form of unity. It’s a move that shows Smith’s belief in the songs, a promising way to approach writing a record that feels conceptually frantic.
