General Lee are not ones to beat around the bush. They believe in rushing in at 120mph and repeatedly running that bush over, hacking at it with scythes and then setting fire to the remains.
Which is why The Witching Hour, the pleasingly brutal opener to this French band’s new album, bulldozes in from the get-go with all the subtlety of a frying pan whacked to the face.
There’s no let-up from there on in. Even when they’re not trying to out-intense fellow math-lovers Botch with their relentless, unpredictable, impenetrable triple-guitar attacks and frontman Arnaud’s rabid howls, the more atmospheric, dreamlike post-rock moments such as the instrumental LVCRFT up the sense of unease on a more queasy, insidious level that gives the likes of Mogwai a run for their money.
Smart, inventive, absorbing and viscerally exciting – just say ‘Oui’ to Raiders Of The Evil Eye.
