You'd probably have to go back to
Flipper to find a band that managed to sound atonal while still having actual tunes the way
Watery Love do on their first full-length album,
Decorative Feeding.
Decorative Feeding isn't loaded with hooks by any stretch of the imagination, but dig deep under the layers of noisy guitars (courtesy Richie Charles and Max Milgram) and the fierce bark of the lead vocals (Charles again), and lo and behold, there are occasional chord changes and crude melodies to be found, no matter how hard the band struggle to disguise their presence. Of course,
Watery Love's tuneful side isn't something they're eager to push, probably because they're as misanthropic as any bunch of guitar manglers who've slunk into a recording studio in recent years; whether they're slipping drugs to some guy at a party, stealing furniture, grumbling about their girlfriend's dogs, or trying to identify vile smells that cross their paths, few bands sound as convincing in their contempt for humanity at large as these guys, and the chaos of
Decorative Feeding's raw attack is guided down a clear, decisive path through their united front of global hatred (a loathing that goes double if you're a lawyer). If you're ever having a day where you want to declare psychic war on the entire universe,
Watery Love will make one hell of a soundtrack, and even when they slow down on the album's final tracks, the hostility communicated by their voices and guitars could burn a hole in your stereo -- it's been a while since a band has made a declaration like "I welcome death!" and sounded this much like they meant it. Love 'em or loathe 'em as much as they loathe you, there's a bracing purity in
Watery Love's ruthless, primitive assault, and if you're still looking for some kinda hate,
Decorative Feeding has got it in spades, along with some impressive cheap guitar abuse. [
Decorative Feeding was also released on LP.] ~ Mark Deming