by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
The trio of Fucking Lovely was formed through connections to Human Worth (BELK, Why Patterns, Modern Technology), the record label that would eventually become home for the new noise punk band’s music. Initially formed as a solo project by Joel Harries (72%) to make a cavalcade of guitar and synth noise, the project released a single and EP before the collaborative roots of this current iteration emerged, finding Harries joined by peers Luc Hess (Coilguns) and Thomas Lacey (Cower), on drums and vocals respectively. There’s a noticeable dread and claustrophobia to the band’s latest EP, Catalogue of Errors, captured with harrowing tension and a crushing fury, equal parts sludge and abrasion. While Fucking Lovely continues to change shape and line-up, it’s hard to imagine this one having gone any other way. Due out this Friday, November 4th (with a portion of sales benefiting The Trussell Trust), it’s immediately apparent that each contributor adds their own bit of sour magic to the proceedings.
From the opening moments of “Lamp,” the reckless energy of the band make its presence felt. This one is unhinged and chaotic, pairing together stampeding polyrhythmic drums with a deluge of whirring synth and processed guitar noise. The guitars are constantly evolving, pushing forward with an amorphous glow allowing Hess to set the structure at his whim, an avalanche of drum fills and progressive elements as his technicality is matched only by his brute force on tracks like “Billy Boy” and the primal intricacies of “Maximum Exhaustion”. The swarming music provides space for Lacey’s lunatic rants, barking and growling as though his life depended on it. The lyrics often feel like a character study, the observations of the world around us. With “Bricked,” Lacey takes the opportunity to stumble between spoken word and blood curdling yelps, with a manic energy fitting the music’s constant state of seasick motion.