Gnaw — Cutting Pieces
From the opener “Rats” the pace is not just slow it’s literally
standing still. And I’m not sure a heavily gated distorted guitar interspersed with screaming vocals really works. There is a dirty, sweaty element to this, but it’s not so much about filth more about a tantrum.
The pace does pick up for “Septic”, but we aren’t talking by much and mainly with the vocals, as the instruments seem to be half their speed. However, by the time we get two minutes in the song starts to fall into place. The guitars are allowed to open up a bit and the noise comes tumbling in. I do not like the vocals, there’s something formulaic about distorted screaming that, for me, was a done thing back in 1995. This music isn’t especially intricate. there’s a lo-fi element to it, and the continuous stately, nay funereal, pace really just fails to ignite anything for me. If Pink Floyd had come after Punk and then decided to hit the weed in a big way this isn’t a million miles away from what they’d sound like, but that isn’t necessarily a good thing!
However, with “Prowled Mary” there is a wonderfully sinister, flies under your skin, feel to the track. This is the sordid underbelly of a human existence in a track, and it works mainly because the vocals aren’t a distorted scream and the guitars are almost non-existent. This is by far and away the nest track on the album.
But, that’s as a good as it gets. The remaining tracks go back a step and you get the impression they are half finished, unfortunately.
Cutting Pieces will be what every Gnaw fan is waiting for, and that’s no bad thing. But to me it’s far too samey and lacks any form of evolution or direction. What should be a good album seems more like an alright album, and that’s disappointing.