Spray Paint
Dopers
MONOFONUS
7/10
Punk’s apparent nihilism always carried a positive flipside: if nothing matters, then the world is what you make it. Spray Paint don’t carry that positivity, populating their latest full-length (and second of 2015) with images of dying dogs, bizarre rambling men, and other ephemera worthy of daytime A&E programming.
The trio’s morbid fascinations have come a long way since 2014’s Clean Blood, Regular Acid, with its disgusting recounting of the murder of a woman, “Rest Versus Rust.” We’re not talking about a band you could take home to your parents, but at least they fall on the accessible side of “repulsive” now. On Dopers, Spray Paint’s withered contempt works in their favor, as on startling centerpiece “Signal Master,” a bracing three minutes of metallic, cascading post-punk—“Poptones” for the 140-character set.
West Coast noisy garage maven Chris Woodhouse recorded Dopers, sanding down some of their previous records’ rough edges in order to emphasize others. Still, his light touch keeps him to get out of Spray Paint’s way, allowing their trash fire to burn bright.
