‘Chokeheld’: Slap Rash descend into the dark bowels of noise-punk chaos
It takes a lot to stand out in the increasingly saturated landscape of regional punk and post-punk, as more and more groups attempt to cash in on a sudden surge in popularity for moody basslines and sprechgesang vocals. Manchester duo Slap Rash, however, offer a slice of salvation to the scene, and their latest offering ‘Chokeheld’ is a perfect introduction.
Sonically existing somewhere between noise rock and out-and-out punk energy, with an added sprinkling of industrial darkness, Slap Rash are adept at trimming the fat and wasting no time in the creation of their musical manifesto. On ‘Chokeheld’, centred around a thinly allegorical shirt being buttoned up too tightly, Huw Lloyd’s discordant sludge bassline is barely given a moment to blossom before his sister, Amelia Lloyd, erupts into a stream-of-consciousness style vocal assault on the listener.
With that foot planted firmly on the accelerator, there is always a danger of veering off the M60 and careering over a roundabout in a flash of flames, but Slap Rash manage to avoid that route entirely, while still throwing caution to the wind with regard to the highway code.
Or, let us depart from that rather convoluted motorway metaphor: despite the duo’s clear joy in breaking down the boundaries often pinned to their noise-punk style, there remains a sense of cohesion and craft within ‘Chokeheld’ – at no point does it cross over into the unlistenable side of chaos.
If there are any moments in the track which are to its detriment, they tend to arise towards the end of the sub-three-minute single, during which the pair attempt to emulate a kind of spaced-out shoegaze atmosphere which doesn’t seem to fit in with the heavy rhythm of the rest of the song.
After all, it is the relatively stripped-back nature of the band, being composed almost entirely of bass and drums, which form some of its most memorable moments, particularly towards the beginning of this new single. Still, there is a constant sense of unpredictability within the track, evoking the atmosphere of Slap Rash’s incredible live performances, which have helped to establish the duo among the most exciting rising bands in the ever-expanding Manchester scene.
Listening to that bassline through some half-decent speakers gives it that infectiously abrasive atmosphere anyway, so to hear the song blasted over a PA at a grassroots venue would help elevate the track to the next level, as currently its production leaves little to write home about.
On the whole, though, ‘Chokeheld’ certainly builds on the momentum that Slap Rash have gained over the past year or so of seemingly constant gigging in and around the North West, which is hopefully leading towards a full-length release in the not-too-distant future.
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