Search - Mark of Cain :: Unclaimed Prize

An angry underrated noise album

Jon Bloomfield | Perth Western Australia | 05/22/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Released in Australia in 1991 this piece of guitar driven angst is the otherside to the brilliant Battlesick of 1989. Whereas the earlier Battlesick showed off TMOC's powerful rhythm section and Kim Scott's brilliant Peter Hook (Joy Division) style bass but this album brought John Scott's aggressive guitar work to the fore. Now John Scott does not show off in his guitar playing, rather he uses the power of distortion and the noise he can bring forth is reminiscent of Bernard Sumner's guitar work with Joy Division combined with the sheer volume and bluster of Raw Power era Stooges. Yet the rhythmn section remains prominent and through them this album steams ahead. One of the strengths of TMOC is to combine seemingly simple riffs with sheer noise and subtle variation to create an album which I still listen to almost 5 years after I bought it. If that isn't enough John Scott uses powerful sometimes cryptic lyrics to drive home his point. This man is not a whinger. Rather he knows the only person he can rely on is himself (at least that's my reading). Highlights of the album include the bruising opener "Fire in Her Heart", the regretful title track (listen to that guitar work), the uncompromising "UCD" and the angry "Cap on John". If you're lucky and get the album with the bonus tracks "Shadows", "Cripple", "Tell Me" and "Viet Vet" you'll also get the opportunity to listen to some of the smartest guitar noise ever. The twist in the lyrics of "Cripple" and "Shadows" always reminds me of the power of seemingly easy word-play.A warning though, this album is not for those who enjoy high-priced studio pop-polish. If you can't stand Joy Division, The Velvet Undergroung, Big Black, Helmet, the Stooges or Rollins Band (although I can't tolerate much of Rollins Band either) then you should think twice before purchasing this album, perhaps listen to a few samples on the net before buying it. Don't buy this album if you don't like this style of music then have a bitch about it here, take some careful thought into your purchases people, don't rely on the rantings of 1 (or even a 100) over-enthusiastic reviewers, we can all be blinded by our own hype at times. Many times I've seen a terrible album given a full 5 stars when it clearly does not deserve it.Nevertheless this is a brilliant album and with lyrics like:"...no person could see what I couldn't be. I was a consolation prize in a lottery never drawn." It beckons you in with clever style absent from much heavy music today."