Stiff Valentine- Loveless EP

Artist: Stiff Valentine

Album: Loveless EP

Label: Trafik Records

Reviewer: Matthew J.

Date: 10-25-08

Heavy grooves and even heavier vocals make up the majority of tracks on this six-track debut from Stiff Valentine. "Number 23" starts things off with an undercurrent of searing electronics, but the techno side is quickly overwhelmed by brutalizing power chords and the Pantera-inspired bellows of aptly named lead vocalist Loud Chris. "Absolution" is faster, more thrashing, a bit like Ministry's recent few albums, while "Prison G" is more like Al Jourgenson's other project, Revolting Cocks, thanks to strummed guitars and muffled vocal loops that evoke the hardscrabble desert of the south Texas landscape. "Breaking Point" is cleaner but still heavy, beats pounding with jackhammer precision, while "Subsonic" is Stiff Valentine at their dirtiest, with raw analog frequencies squealing and twisting under staccato guitar explosions. "Suck" finishes things off with an aggressive cockiness represented by its chorus of "We suck/You suck!" Like an upraised middle finger to the world, it's a solid end for a CD very much keeping with industrial rock's blend of D.I.Y. spirit and nihilistic attitude.

Visit the Stiff Valentine website at www.stiffvalentine.com.