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Post-hardcore noise

Lafaro's post-hardcore noise is a mix of many ideas vying for attention; a touch of jagged quirk (a la McLusky) here, a sprinkling of metal riffage there, a grunge edge in some places and some grooveable beats mixed with awkward time signatures in others making a kind of metallic-punky-rock n roll beast of a record.

Some tracks work brilliantly; title track 'Easy Meat' is one that does, it's oh so danceable, aggressive and jagged in equal measure, with insistent repeated riffs, a cacophony of sound and that Andy Falkous-esque shouted vocal style; everything we love about melodic post-hardcore. A superb, sexy bass line opens 'Settle Pettle' and a great melody really opens it up; this is a more tempered and restrained track and it really pays off, such a solid tune. When they get the mix of ideas just right this band really hook you in.

Unfortunately, the one thing that cuts through the record, breaking it up just a bit too much, are the 'added extras' they've inserted between what seems like every track, the more of them you hear, the more tiresome they become and you may, as we did, start to skip over them. These sections consist of random bits and pieces like band members shouting abuse at each other, blowing raspberries, humming or something similar. These are undoubtedly inserted in an attempt to inject a little more personality into the record but unfortunately they really just serve to take you out of the moment and ruin the flow of an otherwise cohesive and enjoyable ride. A record that's mostly hit, pretty solid overall.