Naughty, naughty

Fecal Scab - Fecal Scab
Self-released

The naughtily-named Fecal Scab is a collaboration between Boston's Nathan Ventura and Duncan Brown. Side A features "songs" and Side B "instrumentals." The songs consist of languid acoustic guitar, and rather fiery vocals that had me wondering if Ventura and Brown were standing face to face, noses almost touching, shouting the lyrics at one another. The percussion doesn't sound like it was played but instead, the various drums and cymbals—even the drum sticks—pushed down a long flight of stairs.

The second side's instrumentals actually feel more like straight-up, structured songs. They rely less on Swell Maps-inspired discord and clatter, and more on melody and mood. They pay homage to bands like Slint. At one point, I heard what sounded like a wolverine trying to escape from a bowling ball bag, but it was short-lived, as if to reinforce the second side's sense of hardened clarity.

The cassette's two sides aren't playing a game of opposites; they are merely the means and the expression of the other.