Indian Handcrafts: Civil Disobedience for Losers

Indian Handcrafts: Civil Disobedience for Losers
There’s a fantastic rock band from Japan called Guitar Wolf, maybe you’ve heard of them? They may not have invented rock and roll, but by god if they don’t embody its elements perfectly. Rock is about excess, about partying, about not giving a shit about tomorrow, and most of all about having the time of your life. So many rock bands want to be taken seriously (or take things too seriously) and forget to just cut loose and melt some face. Thankfully this is far from the reality on Indian Handcrafts‘ new full length.

Comparable only in slight to a similarly talented rock duo, The Black Keys, Indian Handcrafts more fully resemble the intense harmonic rage of the best metal (think Slayer, Megadeth, etc.) mixed with a blues-infused sludgy doom element and the voice of Mr. Spacely shouting at George Jetson… I know this is not the best way to describe a band, but hell if it isn’t true. These guys are awesome. Songs like “Starcraft” and “Worm in My Stomach” simply kick you in the teeth and take your lunch money with their crushing riffs and potent percussive sensibilities.

“Terminal Horse” is a straight up punk rocking affair that crunches all your cookies in less than two minutes. This quick, brutal little number is followed curiously by a spacious, prog-rock monster “Coming Home”. The slightly slower pace on this one really opens up the record into its second half, which features a heavy psychedelic tinge on “Centauri Teenage Riot”. This track features an awesome breakdown followed by an epic guitar solo section that screeches and roars like a bad acid trip.

Where this guitar solo ends is where “Truck Mouth” picks up. As the record’s sole instrumental work, this track serves as a culmination of Indian Handcrafts’ bluesy, doomy, space-rock elements. Here their intensity and attitude are stripped away and we’re treated to what sounds like an essential part of the band’s soul. The ambiance is swept cleanly into “The Jerk”, a rather restrained song that features a slight tongue-in-cheek chorus. “You wanted a lover… You got with the other, and his name was Steve”.

“Lion at the Door” closes the record with incredible, belligerent energy. The rhythm changes around the halfway point, producing a haunting, sinister call and response section that is nothing if not experimental. Once again the duo revisits their space-rock qualities before coming in for a final crash landing that leaves no survivors. Civil Disobedience for Losers is easily one of the best rock records of the year, taking pleasure in giving you nothing less than balls-to-the-wall distorted goodness. It helps that these guys seem to have been influenced by everything even remotely heavy from the 60’s onward, throwing it all into a demented blender and serving it up over shaved ice with one of those little tiki umbrellas.
Rating: 9.3/10
MP3: Indian Handcrafts “Worm in My Stomach”
Buy: iTunes or Insound! vinyl