Cabbage - Nihilistic Glamour Shots
The opener to ‘Nihilistic Glamour Shots’ – ‘Preach to the Coverted’ channels Fat White excellently, with chanting vocals which reek of derangement. The whole song is largely a build-up with variations on “Preach to the Coverted” being shouted to spinning guitar and snappy snares. The best track is ‘Arms of Pleonexia’, it includes an infectious chorus chant and crunchy, full-to-the-brim with attitude guitar. It includes the best aspects that Cabbage bring to the table – some anthemic and melodically interesting vocal lines while also maintaining that punk core.
‘Disinfect Us’ is the most standout album track with rippling open reverb-heavy chords, which are a treat to the ear when combined with a bit of tremolo. This track also has the most musicality to their shouting. The looming drums and menacing guitar work very well with the chanting – this results in maintaining a sort of slow, threatening swagger.
The album is much more refined and well rounded – more so than their EP compilation – ‘Young, Dumb and Full Of… Cabbage’. It has a solid structure of tracks which are well balanced and while the mix gets a bit lost on the penultimate two songs, ‘Subhuman 2-0’ really ties everything up neatly and is quite satisfying.
8/10
