The Floor Above - Bishop

'Bishop'
The Floor Above
2013

Review by Jerry Kahale

Genre/s: Hardcore, Noise Punk
For Fans Of: Lotus Fucker, White Wards, Crazy Spirit, SQRM, Dawn Of Humans

This album was recommended to me by a bloke named Nic Warnock who works at Repressed Records in Newtown, Sydney and is of course more well known for running the RIP Society label who is home to bands like Royal Headache, Bed Wetting Bad Boys, Constant Mongrel and Red Red Krovvy to name a few. I usually make an effort to visit the store when I'm in the area since I live about an hour away and along with picking up the Soma Coma demo tape and Night Birds' The Other Side Of Darkness LP I asked him to recommend me some chaotic and noisy hardcore. Barely got to finish my sentence before he grabbed a copy of Bishop and whacked it on the record player. Needless to say I grabbed it (in exchange for cash money, believe it or not) and now I'm here to tell you about it.

First a fun fact: The Floor Above is an one man project. So I guess I could say this guy is the Burzum of hardcore and finish this review but it would also undermine this record because when it comes to noisy hardcore this could very well be one of the most bleakest, abrasive and brutal hardcore LPs to come out in a while. You'd think that from the screeching groans of an disharmonious choir of guitars leveled by the turbulent and furious rhythm with a lonely and disturbed soul howling through the carnage like that of the insane locked up in an empty but endless padded cell in a psychiatric hospital where the mind cracks and unravels madness beyond repair, all delivered in a muddled and harsh but still reasonably audible production that this could be mistaken for an obscure and old japanese hardcore band but fun fact #2: This guy resides in Nashville, Texas and it was released late last year.

This is truly a nihilistic and fucking awesome listening experience. If you are looking for something with a bit more structure and showmanship then just keep on walking but if you seek for onslaught after onslaught of devastating and manic hardcore then The Floor Above may very well be your new favorite band. Fun fact 3: The cover of the LP is just a blank black sleeve with a poorly printed cut out artwork glued on top. Nothing like taking D.I.Y to a new extreme.

TRACKLISTING:
1. Broken Jaw
2. Endless Plan
3. Bullshit March
4. Underbody
5. Tremor
6. New Colony
7. Parade
8. Overdose
9. Clone
10. Figment
11. Sunk
12. Imaginary Life
13. House Fire
14. Unconscious
15. Mind Experiment
16. Hillside Visions
17. Liquid Herring
18. Last Settlement
19. Tunnels
20. Cave Disease

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