Album Details

• Artist: Sirhan Sirhan
• Album: Blood
• Label: Anodyne
• Year of Release: 2008
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: solitaryman on 2008-06-25

I wonder what the real Mr. Sirhan would think about the fact that there's a band with his name. It's strange what infamy can bring. Now, Sirhan Sirhan are a west-coast post-punk outfit, and I am sorry to say I am not the most familiar with this kind of stuff. Sure, I love metal of all types and their style is something like a mix of Mastodon ferocity and Melvins strangeness. There's alot of messiness, alot of noise. But it's so off the wall that it totally hits the mark, despite itself.

These three boys are doing something strange on these tracks. They're making big statements with the kind of humor you wouldn't expect from a band lending so much of their musical direction to hardcore punk. I mean, yeah, you're going to be freaked out on tracks like "All Aboard" and the Patton-esque vocal tradeoffs between an aggressive bark and inhuman shriek, the latter of which could cause some sort of mental trauma if heard at high enough volume. But then, you'll be surprised to find pop-sensible vocal melodies over choruses designed to hook more than repel ("Remove My Eyes", "Burn It Down") and some rather tasteful licks throughout. The general insanity is constantly balanced by superb songwriting, a very admirable feat.

The only real problem is that there are no problems; it's my tastes that make me say this album is good but nothing special. I can't even think of who to reccomend this to beyond fans of hardcore noise. Blood is all over the place, the kind of record that is quick to finish but leaves you wondering what the hell you just heard. It takes some time, but once you see past the manic aggression, you'll most likely find plenty to enjoy from Sirhan Sirhan.  Or maybe you're a maniac, because you should already own it.

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