Quttinirpaaq- NO VISITORS (2013)

When I received Quttinirpaaq’s record in the mail a few weeks ago, I wasn’t too sure what to expect.  I hadn’t been expecting a package, and had never heard of Quttinirpaaq or its member Matt Turner.  Taped on the cover was a short self-review throwing out names like Brainbombs, Skullflower, and Les Rallizes Denudes.  So, I sat down, plugged in my headphones, and put the record on.

The first track brings feedback and static vocals at the cost of songwriting, and I found it quite an off-putting introduction.  After this intro, though, the album falls into a great noisy, industrial rock sound which it carries throughout the rest of the tracks.  Many of the tracks have a focus on repetition in all of the layers except for a top layer of feedback and effect-muddied vocals.  Some tracks, like “Malvert” definitely show glimpses of Skullflower styled guitar, and others, like “Ex-Batts” have a controlled feedback guitar sound similar to the guitar approach taken in Sightings. 

Despite saying that the album ‘falls into a noisy, industrial rock sound,’ this sound is very varied track to track.  Unilke, say, a Liars album, where every track feels part of a larger theme, Quttinirpaaq allow their songs vary track by track.  An almost ambient interlude (“Travolto”) is followed by a riff centered track (“Dmtbrigman”) only to place an electric industrial track after it.  While this switching styles is not necessarily bad, Quttinirpaaq could have given us one of the albums of the year if they had focused their sound and had every track capture the buildups and intensity found on “Malvert” and made the repetitions more stylized to those in “Golden Needles”.

Overall, NO VISITORS was a great surprise to me.  It’s short, noisy, and isn’t afraid to try to mix electronic elements into feedback focused pieces.  The standout track, “Malvert”, is definitely a contender for a noise rock songs of the year list if I ever bothered to do that (I won’t).  While I wouldn’t compare the sound on this to Brainbombs, this album is worth checking out if you are a fan of Sightings or Keiji Haino or just want to try some new noise rock from Austin, TX.

Stream and buy Quttinirpaaq's NO VISITORS Here.