The Long and Short

I want to say a little something about the new Iron Lung, Sexless // No Sex. They are easily one of my first power violence bands, and it’s great to see them still breathing life into the scene.

I first heard of them when they were playing Reno, before they moved to their current location in Seattle. A friend from school hooked me up with an Iron Lung/Lana Dagales split (2002), and it caved in my chest. They were just a two-piece (guitar/drum) band, but produced some of most horrific Punk I had ever heard.

Sexless reveals just how much the band has grown up. It runs three times longer than the split, and closes with the almost three minute long “Cancer,” moving along at a sludge pace. Don’t get me wrong, songs like “Contested” and “Liars” taste like steel-toed boots, and the album never comes close to sounding compromised. The guitar work is more diverse, from the complex and abrasive riffs on “Autojector,” to the spiraling melodies on “Lumbar Puncture Test," the attack takes new shapes, and with solid drums and vocals filling out the weight, Iron Lung take their songs to greater lengths.

A part of me misses the lo-fi "basement" production and industrial samples, but the core of the sound here is unmistakably Iron Lung. Is it really possible for a power violence band to sell out anyway? I don’t know how much longer Sexless // No Sex will be in print, so get to it.