Situated at the entrance to beautiful West Wales, the city is plagued with high crime rates and drug addiction, and sits just downwind of the industrial hellscape that is Port Talbot. It’s a town that exists in a perpetual state of decline and revival, depending on who you talk to. Arising from this paradoxical stew comes the brilliant-named Only Fools & Corpses. The three-piece band take the contradictions inherent within their hometown and extrapolate them, turning ugliness into beauty and beauty back into ugliness.
The trio make punk-influenced noise rock that draws on Albini-verse bands Shellac and The Jesus Lizard, the textured aggression of Metz and the very-British sarcastic wit of Idles or even Sleaford Mods. The trio’s only releases prior to If Only A For A Minute were two singles – this year’s ‘Limping In A Green Bay’, and 2018’s sardonic masterclass ‘Support Your Local Scene’. Both were sinister, lumbering creations, crawling onto land from the toxic brew of Swansea Bay. The four tracks of If Only For A Minute are more direct and incisive – a dirty needle jab straight to the veins. ‘Lotta Bottle’ is particularly hyperactive, packed with kinetic drums and twitchy riffs, while ‘Feed The Dog For Me’ features charismatic frontman Cameron McIntyre’s most shredded vocals and some truly abrasive lyrics.
As is the case with other noise rock bands, Only Fools And Corpses are only as good as their rhythm section. Drummer Jack Hughes and bassist Dan Richards make for a formidable pairing, underscoring these four tracks with creative drum patterns and bass lines so sharp they could cut glass. Propulsive opener ‘I Feel Violent When I Stop To Think’ lives or dies on their chemistry, which the track palpably oozes. All of the band’s working parts click together especially well on the EP’s most unique track – closer ‘Liquorich’. Here the band channels the wild guitar work of White Lung and the more anthemic tendencies of late-period Metz, making for a distinct and compelling blend of dissonance and melody.
If Only For A Minute is a confident, muscular and savage EP that is something of a dream creation for fans of noise rock, ugly punk and outsider rock music in general. It sees beauty in ugliness and dissonance, which, despite its sometimes nihilistic lyrical mask, is an oddly moral aesthetic perspective. If you have even the slightest penchant for abrasive music get onboard the Only Fools And Corpses train, this band are going to do great things.