Review by Joe Harvey
One thing that I think is a necessity for new bands now-a-days is the ability to make creative and unpredictable music, music that you keeps you guessing and wanting more. War From A Harlot's Mouth, a band recently signed to Lifeforce Records, goes above and beyond that idea.
The opening track to In Shoals, appropriately titled "They Come In Shoals", is an absolute ass-kicker of a tune. The twists and turns the song takes was enough to hook my attention for the rest of the CD. It seems like each song on the album unfolds into a well-thought out maze of a track. I found it almost impossible to get a feel for what was coming next, because each song throws a curve ball at you with every pitch. It definitely makes for an excellent listening experience. I can't express how refreshing it is to hear music that not only awes you with creative music writing, but also still makes you want to get up and wreck some shit.
The most surprising track on the CD is "Justice from the Lips of the Highest Bidder". It is a straight-up jazz number, well played and well transitioned, both to and from. It is not long though before you are thrown back into the hard-hitting riffs and machinegun drumming of "Copyriot" a song that is short in length but still delivers without disappointment.
The next two songs present some of the most enjoyable material on the release. The tempo changes in "A Certain Nothing" and "Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Errorism" are enough to send anyone’s' head spinning. The calm portion of "Appropriate Tools..." is very well played and shows that the band is not being held to any musical limits, which is always a respectable asset.
The album ends with a less-lively of a song with "Scully". The 8:28 long tune doesn’t really offer up as much exciting material as many of other songs on the album, so it winds the album down on somewhat of a disappointing note. The one lackluster song isn't enough to mar the entire release, though, for In Shoals is anything but an overall disappointment. I predict that this band with only get better with future releases.
For more information on War From A Harlot's Mouth:
Myspace
Lifeforce Records