DEX ROMWEBER DUO
FLESH WOUNDS
Flesh Wounds’ 2012 tape, Abrasions, Abscesses, and Amputations, arrived in mid-November of that year as a late addition to local best-of lists, sneaking in via All Day Records. Wild, rough and frantic, the nine-song set established Flesh Wounds as an audacious and aggressive trio, running wild with garage rock.
The tape’s overdue proper follow-up arrives as a three-song 7″ on Merge Records. (The band isn’t signed to Merge, per se; as Merge did last year with Barren Girls, the label is only issuing this single, at least so far). Together, the cuts clock in six seconds shy of six minutes, but Flesh Wounds sweat over and own every moment. “Bitter Boy” first appeared on Abrasions, Abscesses, and Amputations, but the band re-recorded it for the single. Don’t worry about major cleanups or switched instruments, though. The song is a little tighter and less muffled than in its original form, but it doesn’t lose much tenacity.
On the B-side, “Kennel Cough” and “Let Me Be Clear” keep up the momentum. “Let Me Be Clear” is one of the band’s most raucous numbers to date. Laura King hammers the drums. Montgomery Morris and Dan Kinney claw at and shriek through their guitars. “Kennel Cough” has so much attitude that you can hear the sneer in real-time.
Flesh Wounds are currently streaming three more songs on their website, and in August, they will release their second LP through their own label. Perhaps now, the pace of Flesh Wounds’ output can match the ferocity of what they deliver.
This article appeared in print with the headline “The savages”
Label: Merge Records
