The DevilsHorns

Strange to Cope in Today’s World is the debut EP from Louisiana noiseniks We Do Not Belong Here. To describe this as a tough listen is an understatement. This EP is as challenging a listen as you will hear this year, and yet it is ultimately rewarding.

‘A Chain Pulled Taut’ is the opening, instrumental, track of the 5 songs on offer. Whilst it may appear a wee bit self-indulgent and perhaps unnecessary to have an almost relaxing track introducing an EP, it definitely lulls you into a sense of false security. If this slow beginning was an intro to how the remaining 4 tracks would sound, then many listeners would press stop.

But it isn’t!

Track 2, ‘A Life, Explained’, kicks you so hard in the balls that you will squeal with delight. It is urgent, slow, featuring vigorous blast-beats and dirty vocals, it is almost Avante-garde in its delivery. Only the collective skill of the trio that form We Do Not Belong Here prevent it from being an incoherent mess.

The dirty vocals disappear on track 3, the superbly titled ‘Faith or Fucked’. Here, the boys demonstrate superior vocal chops, with innocent sounding clean vocals colliding with the more growly vocals forming a pleasant contradiction. Again, the track combines considered slow sections with what can only be described as mental sections.

Big riffs introduce ‘Shame’, where distinctive bass also rumbles along. My notes on this track basically say ‘bedlam ensues’. Like the rest of the EP, the 4^th track flirts between being a complete and utter shambles and being a work of genius. It lies closer to the latter.

Finally, the title track closes out the EP. ‘Strange to Cope in Today’s World’ is the longest song on the album. With a false ending, and a delightful melodic section, we still have the bedlam, but interspersed with perverse beauty. Where We Do Not Belong Here open the EP with the sedate, unnecessary, instrumental, they close out Strange to Cope in Today’s World with a track that leaves you begging for a few minutes more.

Make no mistake about it, We Do Not Belong Here have taken a massive risk with this EP. Strange to Cope in Today’s World is complex, often tough to listen to at times. However, at no stage does it ever lose its innate sense of intrigue, you never lose the desire to hear what else the track/EP has to offer and this is the biggest compliment that can be provided.

Yes, it may not suit all, but for those who buy into what the boys are feeding us, the reward may be the gift that keeps on giving.

Instagram:            https://www.instagram.com/wedonotbelonghereband/        

Bandcamp:           https://wedonotbelonghere.bandcamp.com/album/strange-to-cope-in-todays-world