Sun Plexus 2- En Souvenir de L'horreur

ARTIST: Sun Plexus 2
ALBUM: En Souvenir de L'horreur
LABEL: Ronda Label
REVIEWER: Matthew J.
DATE: 6-23-08

Reemerging in a new incarnation after four years of self-imposed solitude, Romanian group Sun Plexus 2 returns with a release that manages to be fun in spite of its own abrasiveness. Sun Plexus 2 are a rock group, at least according to the looser definitions of the phrase; they use drums and guitars and vocals. If their starting point is fairly standardized, however, the end result is less so; the group doesn't so much ignore conventional rock tropes as deliberately destroy them. "Tchempo" starts things off with a pure electronic tone, full of intentional glitches that make it sound as though the CD is skipping, then launches into a burst of grating noise rock, all dissonant guitar chords and hoarse shouts. "Jakob" is full of random percussion sounds, all drenched in effects processing, and "A Force de Suce" is sludgy metal, the odd guttural verse buried beneath crunchy guitar overdrive. For all its heaviness, though, there's a lightness in spirit that comes through, a sense that Sun Plexus 2's assault on music owes more to playfulness than nihilism. Take "Pussy Puree," for example. On the surface, it's as noisy as all get out, percussion clattering and guitars assaulting the senses in languid blasts of distortion, but the vocals are delivered in such a high-pitched falsetto it's hard not to smile, and harder still to imagine the group's lead singer delivering them without a grin of his own. "Fat Club" is likewise possessed of an amusing spirit, mewls and grunts belying the seriousness of its thudding percussion and dreary guitar echoes, and "Die Pipipuppe," if less overtly comedic, still achieves a certain wittiness with its sudden transition from tribal industrial noise to minimal electronic beeping. Unlike the aggression that categorizes such western noise rock acts as Foetus or even early Einsturzende Neubauten, Sun Plexus 2's approach is as joyful as it is loud, not unlike such Japanese groups as The Boredoms or Melt-Banana. This is by far too extreme for most rock fans, but if you're a noise aficionado in need of a break from the usual blistering blasts of hatred and misanthropy, Sun Plexus 2 might be just what you're looking for.

Learn more about Sun Plexus 2 at https://sunplexus2.free.fr/.