In on the Kill Taker
is like scrubbing your face with steel wool. It finds the band relying on rusty guitar shards that scrape, seethe, and hiss, further removing itself from the sound of
13 Songs
and
Repeater
. Harsh and grating,
Fugazi
surprisingly produces sheer noise at times, best witnessed in the lengthy closing of
"23 Beats Off"
and the unintentional
Gremlins
homage that opens
"Walken's Syndrome."
Joe Lally
's bass and
Brendan Canty
's drums are relegated to acting as a guide; they're pushed -- but not squashed -- down in the mix, allowing for
Ian MacKaye
Guy Picciotto
's guitars to take control, corrosively so. It's probably
's least digestible record from front to back, but each track has its own attractive qualities, even if not immediately perceptible.
"Facet Squared"
"Public Witness Program"
open the record furiously, but the majority of the following
"Return the Screw"
is hardly audible, aside from occasional vocal tantrums. A good amount of time is spent alternating between low-key guitar noodling and intrusive bursts of aggression. They're smart with their sequencing, placing the gentle instrumental
"Sweet and Low"
(the only track where
Lally
plays a prominent role) after the exhaustive cacophony of
"23 Beats Off,"
and generally piecing together a set of rather diverse tracks that flows well.
Picciotto
's anti-Hollywood rant on the properly titled
"Cassavetes"
is a classic
moment, as is his similarly name-dropping
Buried at the end of the record are two excellent lurchers,
MacKaye
's
"Instrument"
"Last Chance for a Slow Dance."
Not
's finest hour, but one of its most daring and rewarding. ~ Andy Kellman