by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
If nothing else, this year has at least introduced me to a lot of new bands (much like every year before it). While Alpha Hopper have been releasing great records since 2014, this was the year that I first heard them, and there’s no turning back. Set to release their latest full length album, Alpha Hex Index, on November 20th via Hex Records (Exhalants, USA Nails, Pinko), it’s another crushing addition to the band’s stellar catalog of noise punk records that simultaneously disgust and delight. It’s loud, aggressive, and willingly irritating, and it just melts our hearts with joy in the process. The Buffalo quartet - Irene Rekhviashvili (vocals), John Toohill (guitar) Ryan McMullen (guitar), and Douglas Scheider (drums) have boiled down the finer elements of noise rock, no wave. and art-punk to create something so distinctly their own, while paying homage to the sordid style of early 90’s AmRep and Touch & Go favorites.
“Big Body” is the record’s third single (following “The Goods” and “In The Desert In The West”), built on the propulsive energy that Alpha Hopper do so well. This one has a lot of tension in the coiled guitars, building a sense of unease of Rekhviashvili’s vocals to command with a rhythmic nerve reminiscent of early Guerilla Toss. There’s a deranged kind of sing-songy quality to it, tapping just under the skin as it worms its way into your memory. The drums provide an almost electronic precision, as everything else tangles itself, darting between padded walls of corrosive noise punk fun and a blistering solo just below the howling finale.