So, it seems as if very-brief Himsa guitarist Aaron Edge has recruited the talents of underground grunge (undergrunge? Ew…) stalwart Tad Doyle and Yob vocalist Mike Scheidt for a new project/band named Lumbar…
Class, anyone see this coming?
You’re all goddamn liars. Detention for everyone. Except you, kid-in-the-lower-right-asking-for-a-fist-bump. You’re kind of a badass.
Really though, despite the fact that Edge and Doyle share space in barely-active sludgers Brothers of the Sonic Cloth, this has to be about as perplexing an on-paper grouping as one could think up, at least when you try to rectify the Yob + Himsa + Tad formula that will surely stick in your noggin. There is, however, a reasoning behind the gathering: Aaron Edge’s recent diagnosis with multiple sclerosis. He intended for Lumbar to be his final bit of music, and a very urgent, desperate expression. Edge handles all instruments, while the duo of Tad and Scheidt cover the vocals. The result is The First and Last Days of Unwelcome, a very brief sub-25 minutes and seven tracks (“Day One,” “Day Two,” etc.) of poisoned mollasses.
To the folks most likely to be reading this review (those being the Yob fans), the contents of The First and Last Days of Unwelcome ought not to be altogether shocking. This is sludgy, minimal doom with bits of noise, some samples, and a penchant for being quite caustic. The riffs are largely glacial, lumbering (Lumbar-ing?) lines that range from thick grooves to very simple walls of sound, while Scheidt and Tad do their things (spoiler: Scheidt wins), creating what should be a very cool core sound.
However, the very urgency that helped to bring Lumbar into form also causes The First and Last Days of Unwelcome to feel very underdeveloped from a songwriting stand point. Of these seven tracks, only about three resemble actual songs, with the opener being the clear best of the lot. The album might make sense as a whole if there was any concise flow or point, but the majority of the less-than-songs – which range from good material cut short (“Day Four”) to material that is actually grating (“Day Three”) – do little but add to the feeling that this is very incomplete.
Ironically, The First and Last Days of Unwelcome sounds as if it was meticulously finished in a studio, with a hefty guitar tone, layering, and sampling (kudos on the Once Upon a Time in the West bit) all doing their best to overcome the lack of real songs. But if credit must be given for the mild enjoyment within, it belongs to Scheidt. His piercing wails and quivers are as listenable and powerful as ever, but in a year in which he already killed it with Vhöl and the Yob classic Catharsis is seeing a reissue, there is little reason here to seek out his services other than knowing that the proceeds are going to charity.
Reviewing an album such as The First and Last Days of Unwelcome is a difficult proposition. There is little doubt that constructing and creating this album surely helped Aaron Edge in an emotional manner, and for that it is certainly a success. But we as listeners cannot possibly put ourselves in his shoes, and when taken strictly on its musical merits, this leaves much to be desired.
