Nine Fingered Thug review in Sound Projector

Somehow missed this review when it first came out, but never to late to appreciate it! Here is a reposting:

‘Bitter Ballads’ (HOLLOW BUNNY RECORDS HB005) by Nine Fingered Thug is just totally excellent, from its twisted Matt Minter cover art to every second of its EP-length grooves. While Buffalo Bangers pay explicit homage to various late-1970s New Wave bands with their sound, Nine Fingered Thug are far more eccentric and artistic and while it’s possible to characterise this record as some species of punk-inflected monstrousness, it’s just got so many elements that don’t fit neatly – including the mannered snarly vocals by Samuel M.Z. Mintu and the utterly spooked-out organ work from the great Irene Moon. Come to that, what’s the madcap Irene Moon even doing in a “band”? ² The two songs here are both hymns to a pair of subversive visual artists, Hans Bellmer and Unica Zürn ³, and the insert includes a photograph of the duo nursing one of their doll constructs. The lyrics, especially those for the ‘Hans’ side, are sympathetic to the dark side of these far-out modernists, while also spinning a nightmarish yarn out of free-form streams of surreal poetry. It’s a genuine attempt to crawl inside the heads of these strange creators. Mintu, credited with “grumbling” as well playing the bass, grunts out these unwelcome visions of ugliness from a deep part of the psyche. There’s also the guitarist Services Lobo and Dabney Scott Craddock IV on drums, and I mention all four players because I can hardly credit the bizarre sound they make together – guitars and keyboards shining dimly among a fug of rather awkward rhythms – rather like a gothic version of Butthole Surfers. Also I enjoy they way they don’t really sit comfortably together as a band; each one plays as though they were making a completely different record from the others. Nothing but praise have I for this slab of grotesque beauty. Probably received some time before June 2011 but was released in 2010.

1. Many UK punks acknowledged their love of Marvin’s work; this coincided with EMI’s release of the compilation 20 Golden Greats (0C 062-06 297) in 1977. ↩
2. Of course she was a member of The Collection Of The Late Howell Bend. ↩
3. Others who have explicitly professed their obsessions in this area are Stephen Thrower and Alfredo Tisocco. ↩

Women Are Magic

Nine Fingered Thug has a new tape out. The Indy Weekly describe it as

"From the nasty rattle of the opening bass riff to the tortured, lethargic keyboards that close "Birthday Deer," Nine Fingered Thug's debut cassette is a purposefully abrasive outing. About as far removed from modern, joy-buzzing noise pop as possible, these songs quake with the low-end dumpster rock of the keys, drums and bass instrumentation and snarl with Samuel Mintu's demented, rabid yap."

A fantastic description of a review. No doubt. However, I would choose different language. For me, words like 'beautiful' and 'pretty' come to mind. Nine Fingered Thug as metal, noisy, and full of minor chords as it might be, follows many interesting modes. Many of the song structures actually follow the principles of ballroom dancing and easy listening...including waltzes, marches, and a fox trot. Polka is definitely in the future. Sure there is lots of low end with the instrumentation being bass, drums and a hacked organ. But to whales, elephants, lions, or many other power forces from the animal kingdom low end is sexy. High end is reserved for screams of panic and terror emitted by prey animals.

I would say we are in the genre of folk metal or ballad metal if there is one. The best folk songs tend to be tragic including teachings of fables and folklore for the young ones just entering the world. Metal because of the overdrive.

They are tapes, get them while they are hot.