This album is like a scary acid trip. But the kind of trip that you take something good away from the experience.
Let’s start off by stating that I’ve never really listened to much psychedelic grunge before. To be honest, it creeps me out. Which I’m pretty sure in most cases is kind of the point. But SPILT’s latest album ‘No Ball Games’ is interestingly different, yet catchy enough to work as a gateway album for a genre of music that is very much an acquired taste.
I’ve been listening to SPILT for a few years now and I’ve always been impressed with their singles and EPs. So, when I heard they would be releasing an album, I was excited to have a wide array of something different and new to add to my skate playlist. You know, songs that can join a number of SPILT’s classics such as ‘Acid Baby’ and ‘Catnip’ (A couple of filthy and gritty tunes with some delicious guitar riffs). Low and behold the album does supply you with some signature SPILT noise.
The album opens with the track ‘Pokit’, consisting of a Pink Floyd styled intro that can only be described as liquid noise. This intro slips seamlessly into a mellow guitar riff, provided by Mo, and is quickly followed up with a catchy vocal melody. Of course, it wouldn’t be SPILT if this mellow vibe wasn’t suddenly undermined by an explosive riff that’s heavy on the chorus pedal. The boys didn’t disappoint. The track then continues as abrasively as possible (Making me kind of worried for Mo’s throat, considering the number of screams that I could only assume would continue for the rest of the album).
The following track ‘Funny Money’ reminds me of a sinister HMLTD track with its obscure rhythm on the guitar riff, accompanied by an unnerving effect on the vocals. To be honest this is one of my favourite tracks on the album, mostly because it’s nothing like anything I would normally listen to, yet it almost has a hypnotic essence to it which makes it impossible to not intently listen to every second.
The rest of the album continues with more samey SPILT abrasiveness, accompanied with a couple unnecessary audio tracks that feel like they’re only there to gratify the band’s notion of being eccentric and different, such as ‘(Bit.Head)’ (an audio track of a dodgy Londoner trying to sell a watch).
But then we get to the daddy of the album, ‘1984’. This song came out a few months prior as a single, and for good reason. It has an instantly catchy intro that then throws you straight into the chorus of (yup, you guessed it) screams. I particularly like the effect on the guitar after the lead riff that follows the chorus. It almost gives you a sense of impending doom through its echoey influence, dragging you through a hole of sinister thoughts that leave you shaking… the track still fucking slaps though.
Now if you’re looking for a SPILT song that doesn’t suddenly turn on you and melt your ear holes, then ‘Canalboatredeo’ is the track you’ve been waiting for. Come to think of it, I can’t think of any other SPILT track that doesn’t involve a left turn into grunge filth out of nowhere, so this really was a nice change. Joking aside, it really is a perfectly relaxing track. One that will be smoked to in due time.
Out of the last few tracks, ‘Order’ is probably the last one I really enjoyed. Nothing against the following tracks, it’s just that there’s only so much samey grunge that the untrained ear can take in. I guess it’s because ‘Order’ sounds similar to the likes of a Fidlar tune, but still a SPILT song in its own right due to the signature vocals.
Overall, this album is a fantastic debut for a band that has adopted a very obscure path to take, in terms of their genre. However, what starts off as an interestingly different and dark album begins to sound contrived towards the end. But like I said before; this isn’t really my kind of music, but it still got my attention. Let’s also bear in mind that these guys are still young, and very much hungry for more. I’m excited to see just how weird these guys are willing to get.
Verdict 3.7/5
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