TURBO JAMZ!!!!

Planets are a duo from California featuring Paul Slack on bass/guitar and Tom Crawford on drums. Information is a bit hard to find but I believe they are on hiatus at the moment. They appeared to have a small but enthusiastic fan base when they were more active a few years ago.

Certainly not for the faint of heart, Planets is non-stop adrenaline and noise, power and precision. They marry together the cerebral side of technically difficult math-rock playing with the fury and volume of hard core punk. In a sense they are similar to fellow Californians Minutemen, who were famous for being a punk band that actually had impressive chops. The difference is that Minutemen would play some catchy things with choruses and attempt to appeal a bit wider. Planets is pure jamming and no compromise here. It's a short EP but this is 12 straight minutes of shreddy good whiplash. Slack and Crawford careen from one challenging jam segment to the next with controlled abandon, thrilling listening, if a bit grey and cloudy in mood. There are no vocals but there are some sampled spoken audio effects between songs for brief respite. Four songs are listed but the EP plays like one long track. Also like the 80s punk scene it is a relatively low-fi affair and the cymbal crash is annoyingly loud. But that's my problem, not theirs. Turbo Jamz will have limited appeal at ProgArchives but it is a blast if this kind of music is your thing.

PLANETS is an instrumental math rock duo from Napa, CA that only uses drums and bass and are known in small circles for their extremely hyperactive labyrinthine approach to constructing lengthy math rock jams. The duo consists of former SWIMS bassist Paul Slackand and drummer Thomas Crawford. To date the band have released two full-length albums "Planets" and "The Dark Woods" but these albums are extremely difficult to track down.

This EP that was released in between the two albums however is easily accessible on the Bandcamp page and displays the band's basic approach, namely nerdy math rock taken to extremes. The tempos are upbeat, the distortion is turned up as well and the frenetic nature allows a ferocity that is usually reserved for metal to blast through. Due to this highly caffeinated approach, the band has earned the additional tag of brutal prog which serves it well.

This short EP only contains five short tracks that are packaged together as one but only runs just shy of 12 minutes. The duo are also known to put on an extraordinarily energetic live show and despite only existing as a duo sound like a much larger band despite the minimalism. This is a rather relentless math rock drive that shows no mercy. Time signatures changes pummel the listener with heavy brutal bass riffs that often sound like down-tuned guitars and progressive blastbeat drumming to the extreme. Pretty cool stuff if brutal prog is what you're craving. I look forward to finding the full albums. 12 minutes isn't really enough.

3.5 rounded down