Review of SSZ by John Goodrich posted to a.h.c.

[Toren Atkinson]

The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets: Spaceship Zero
by John Goodrich
Writing about music is like dancing about architecture. –Unknown

Chances are, you already know what you think of the punk scene. Lovecraft-
inspired lyrics will not be of much interest to anyone who finds that
thrashing electric guitars are unlistenable noise. Raw energy is often
prized above musical ability in punk, and it's
definitely not for everyone.
But if you have this particular taste, and you're reading
alt.horror.cthulhu, then you should definitely be listening to The Darkest of
the Hillside Thickets. The Thickets bill themselves as "Cthulhu's Goodtime
Boys,"and they're not really wrong on that level. They managed to make and
sell two CDs before they signed onto a company called Divine Industries.
Like most bands, the Thickets started out pretty raw, and fairly basic.
Basic lyrics, uninspired guitar riffs; overall, a decent but not particularly
noteworthy band, outside of their Lovecraftian connection. Cthulhuriffomania
was a listenable demo tape (later rereleased on their Great Old Ones CD), and
quite exciting when I initially got it, but it wasn't an album for the ages.
Still it did contain the high-energy "Worship Me Like a God" (I've got their
T-shirt that says the same thing), and unlike certain Wal-Mart friendly
post-punk 'grunge' bands, they haven't stolen a bass line in their lives. The
tape was good enough to lead me to pick up their CD when it came out, Cthulhu
Strikes Back.
With Cthulhu Strikes Back, the Thickets separated themselves from the
general herd of unsigned punk bands. They had matured, and their work was a
much more complex and interesting blend of raw punk energy and interesting
words. They began their album with a serious kick called "Goin' Down To
Duwich", and followed up with a lot of Lovecraft-inspired songs. The songs on
Cthulhu Strikes Back were much better constructed than the Thickets' previous
album, and the music was catchy, toe-tappin' fun. They had expanded their
sampling, taking from many sources (including a lot of Doom sounds), but they
made sure that this didn't overshadow the music itself. Even their ten
minute-long fantasia, "Cthulhu Dreams", which could have come out like a 70's
jazz odyssey is so layered with interesting music, chants, and weird Cthuloid
samples that it never gets boring. There's always something new to hear,
another section of the audio barrage to pay attention to.
With the release of their third album, Spaceship Zero, the Original Motion
Picture Soundtrack, the Thickets have again demonstrated some serious
originality in a music world crowded with sound-alike bands. Since
Cthulhuriffomania, they've been good enough to be ‘fan favorites', but with
their new album, they're definitely ready to move onto a larger stage.
Although their Lovecraftian references are down, and so are their samples,
their energy is more focused, and their sound more slick, although not
overproduced.
With a lyric density that lies somewhere between Madonna and Barenaked
Ladies, the Thickets again separate themselves from the mass of Tourettian
punk bands with some true and refreshing originality. My personal favorite
song, "20 Minutes of Oxygen," is, in three verses, the thoughts of a man who
is trapped with a rapidly decreasing amount of breathable air. He constructs
a couple of elaborate fantasies on how to escape, calling each one the
"ripcord in my destiny." What a great phrase that is. For me, in conjures up
the image of a man who feels like his life has turned into a free fall, and
these ideas are the only things that can save him. It's beautiful and poetic.
Spaceship Zero cuts way back on the Lovecraftian elements from Cthulhu
Strikes Back, but both "Innsmouth Look" and "Sounds of Tindalos" are obvious
homages, and they happen to be some of the best songs of the album.
The reader should not think that I like the Thickets just because they're
Lovecraftian. Another CD released recently, HP Lovecraft's Cthulhu Dreams is
quite frightening, and not in the way that I like. Www.talisdream.com offers
MP3 downloads of the first minutes of several of the tunes, for which I thank
Zhar and Lloigor. It seems to be some sort of electronic musical fantasia,
about as in line with my idea of Lovecraftian horror as the soft-rock band
H.P. Lovecraftof the ‘70's. So like I said, if you're reading this, and
you are interested in the punk scene, then you probably ought to be listening
to the Darkest of the Hillside Thickets. They offer a very creative and
well-honed band that is a welcome relief from the usual modern rock sameness
that comes out of my radio these days.
And you're not going to believe "The Math Song."

The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets perform:
- Nov 29 Starfish Room, Vancouver BC with Chixdiggit & Riff Randalls
- Nov 30 Queens Hotel, Nanaimo BC (Chix & Riff)
- Dec 1 Vertigo @ UVIC, Victoria BC (Chix & Riff)

tOrEn aTkiNsOn
of tHe dArKesT oF tHe hiLLsiDe tHiCkEts
302-1015 West 13th Ave Vancouver BC V6H 1N1 Canada
http://www.toren.net/~thickets
ICQ: 21364279