Nothing warms the earholes like a seemingly endless avalanche of white noise, which is precisely how
Part Chimp kick things off on their 2005 sophomore full-length,
I Am Come. Comparable to a jam session between
Sonic Youth (especially the guitar work) and
Lightning Bolt (the high volume and drum bashing), these U.K. noise mongers obviously enjoy pushing sonics to the max. Rising from the ashes of an obscure band, Ligament, the group has earned quite a few accolades back home (including the praise of Kerrang magazine), has performed on a
John Peel BBC session and XFM radio, and was signed by
Mogwai's label, Rock Action. But
I Am Come shows that there is more here than just mere hype. A constant onslaught from beginning to end, standouts include "War Machine," "Punishment Ride," and "30,000 People," the latter of which is best described as if the aforementioned
Sonic Youth were fronted by a hardcore barker.
I Am Come sure doesn't fit on MTV's TRL, and that's precisely its endearing quality. ~ Greg Prato