In The Grips Of The Light

With red eyes and raised fists, the rock n roll juggernaut known as Racebannon has lumbered out of Indiana and assassinated eardrums execution-style with its underpaid and underemployed audio-sonic mindfuck. These Hoosier bastard sons have birthed several illegitimate singles and split 7″ recordings and left resin-stained fingertips up and down this country with their constant touring in support of said singles and their debut LP, FIRST THERE WAS THE EMPTINESS (on Level Plane Records). Over the course of their five year existence, this band of stalwarts have brought the pain and the rock to many a face, and have continued to hone in on and refine their sound, without sacrificing their requisite anger and passion (read: balls).

They’ve become well-known for their relentless live shows at which they’ve destroyed nearly every PA they’ve had direct line to with their noisy evangelical fanaticism. The band is a cross breed of Captain Beefheart’s controlled spontaneity, Melvins and Blue Cheer-esque sludgy heaviosity, and Melt Banana-like noisy spazz. And vocalist Mike Anderson is equal parts sage medicine man a la H.R. of Bad Brains as well as David Yow’s mongoloid as charismatic frontman of Scratch Acid and early Jesus Lizard.

After a long and booze/drug addled courtship, the Bannon and Secretly Canadian exchanged vows and bodily fluids in a secretive ceremony, consecrating the marriage with the subsequent shotgun wedding present IN THE GRIPS OF THE LIGHT. Laid out in one week in Lincoln, Nebraska, with Mike Mogis at the helm (famous for the work with his groups Bright Eyes and Lullaby for the Working Class, in addition to lending his hands and ears to Songs: Ohia, The Faint, and Cursive), IN THE GRIPS OF THE LIGHT is 56 minutes of focused and contained musical chaos,the milkman’s baby born of distortion, screams, emotion, distress, dismay and frenzied destruction. Frantic yet ambient, massively heavy yet intelligent, IN THE GRIPS is not only a griot for the Hoosier felons serving time in the middle of nowhere, it is also the soundtrack of the latchkey kid on downers in all of us.

2xLP released by Level Plane Records.