The music of defeat, of mud and ash, the handshake murders, this is what we are. We are thread and flesh clinging to processed bodies and encompassing desire. We are nowhere. We are arkansas. We are the singular erratic formation of a decade and competence, a journey of crippling respiration and dispersing cries of hope. We are a juggernaut splintering the future. We are human, and we are increase.
The opening bars of 'Dissector,' the first track on Arkansas' The Handshake Murders debut, will have you double-taking the CD credits wondering whether Sean Ingram has a new band, so similar is the visceral scream of THM frontman Jayson Holmes to the unmistakable tones of the erstwhile Coalesce vocalist. Musically, however, THM are a more technical proposition than Coalesce's dirt-laden grooves, a cross between the shape-shifting, clinical mathematics of A Life Once Lost and Norma Jean's staccato noise. And yes, the overall effect is thoroughly engaging. 'Usurper' proves to be an unexpected gem, the spiralling bounce of 'Mind Bender' summoning a Meshuggah-esque groove to underpin Holmes' freociously unrelenting vocals. A surprising and refreshing album then, and a find for those preferring their noise to come with a brain matching its brawn.
7/10
Leander Gloversmith
Terrorizer Magazine
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