07 July 2012

UPSIDEDOWN CROSS


Boston's UPSIDEDOWN CROSS are a thing of mystery. Formed from the ashes of the equally mystifying KILSLUG, their releases combine drug addled FLIPPER-esque irreverence with legitimately crushing psych filled doom. Vocalist Larry Lifeless comes across like Bobby Liebling on a disastrous hallucinogen cocktail, and the band painfully lumbers through their tracks as if lost and confused. That's what is so appealing about UPSIDEDOWN CROSS, the lazy and unpretentious approach lulls you, almost comforting you, and then their twisted reality slowly starts to sink in. The xylophone on "Village Idiot" competes with the hopelessly affected guitar creating such a casually insane aural vibe - impossible to duplicate that vibe without a touch of legitimate insanity in the mix. Counting both J Mascis and Seth Putnam as members over their two some-odd decades of existence (I seem to recall hearing about gigs as recently as a few years ago, but my memory often fails), they managed only a small handful of releases. Evilution, obviously from the early '90s heyday of primitive photoshop, is their second full length and appears in retrospect to be more of a shot for the stars than their self titled debut or the Witchcraft 10" from 1997. But while it's easy to imagine some record label schmuck trying to convince UPSIDEDOWN CROSS that they were destined for greatness, it's difficult to picture the average metal consumer digesting this drug feast, and impossible to see this band operating as anything other than extreme outsiders. Truly weird, honestly twisted. 

I loaned my copy of the 10" to someone more than ten years ago. I want it back, but I cannot remember who I loaned it to. If you read this and it was you, then please drop me a line?

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