Monday, June 21, 2010

DREAMKILLERS: Pockets of Water


Produced by Jeff Lovejoy
Released: 7 May

The very first review you find for this CD on the iTunes site is by "helltrip 10" who opines this "don't sound the same" as the old Dreamkillers line-up, and in many ways that's totally fair. Mustachio'd miscreant Les Jobson resurrected this group with completely different people from the 90s version for a one-off bash back in 2006, only to find that the beast wouldn't die and 12 years on from Character Building Hell Trip the 'Killers don't sound quite like they used to. Bassist Antz brings some Post Life Disorder influence into "Doom Trollop" as it opens this EP with a huge sludgey groove. There's no mistaking Jobson's idiosyncratic vocals, however. His strange blend of melodic singing and half-shouted/spoken ranting was the distinguishing feature of this band, and nothing has changed in that regard.

If the first track has a distinctively metallic edge then "Lil' Darcy" swings the balance back the other way, to the fast, intense riffs of prime hardcore territory. "Verbal Violence" and "Bonebag" show that Jobson has lost none of his talent for sharp, satirical social and political comment while the band carries out a scathing sonic attack with regular bursts of surprising melody. It all comes together on "Smoke Over Marysville", a stinging rebuke of the political clusterfuck of Black Saturday that culminates in a chilling sample of a terrified man leaving a farewell message for his family. In a time when punk and hardcore don't seem to mean what they used to, it's clear that Jobson hasn't forgotten. They might sound tidier and tighter thanks to Jeff Lovejoy's production, but the Dreamkillers still pack a whallop.


  1. Doom Trollop
  2. Li'l Darcy
  3. Smoke Over Marysville
  4. 70 Percent of Them
  5. Verbal Violence
  6. Bonebag

Rating: 83%

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