It's hard to pinpoint exactly why so many music listeners, myself included, are drawn to ruthless assaults upon their own ears, but so long as audiences want it, musicians like THEGEORGEWASHINGMACHINES are going to supply it. Funeral Crack Binge is something of a bastard child assembly of everything that musically quantifies who prime mover Jack Simpson is, showing elements of everything I've heard from him in the past, and more. You'll find a comprehensive collection of all-enveloping madness manifested into six tumultuous hymns to hysteria. Noise, Hip Hop, Extreme Metal and Industrial are all present in unison on this release, giving an unmatched and incomparable identity to the record.
A startling beginning upon the absurdly-titled intro track, "ANTHONY FANTANO WOULD PROBABLY GIVE THIS RECORD LIKE A 6.3," causes a jarring response to preemptively rid itself of casuals before it pulls the rest of us in with a pristinely weaved fog; and it progressively layers itself until it becomes a new beast. It's here that the EP starts to become something much more malicious. An infectious bass line atop a plodding drum pattern do all but prepare you for the burst of frenzy that cements the slow movements together. THEGEORGEWASHINGMACHINES show no signs of timidity when diving into exercises in absurdity, and take pride in bewildering the listener.
My favorite song on this release would have to be the title track, "FUNERAL CRACK BINGE." I feel that it's the one that showcases the eclectic variety above the rest, which has fragments of all of the aforementioned genres with some Black Metal-esque vocals that take over briefly into the track's duration. The instrumentals distort and shriek underneath the rasping vocals. The drums tend to ride on the crash cymbal on this song, among others present, which I'm always a sucker for.
There are vocal features here on select songs that radiate precision and command over their vocal segments, and then there are those fronted by Simpson which have a more manic, frenzied spirit to them. This isn't to say that he doesn't exhibit control over his parts, but he does know when to let go of the reigns of that control, and channels something more primitive and emotive. Much of the music here displays vulnerability and emotional callous, spiraling into a melting pot of strange sentiments. It's loud and chaotic, whatever other feelings you get from it, and I'd argue that any two listeners may feel completely differing emotions from this.
Every song has something to offer, and they're all tied together so seamlessly and confidently that it'll hardly seem odd when new pieces of this gloomy puzzle are introduced. This isn't the work of a man who's haphazardly decided to make an album that has lots of unnecessary genres in it, but rather the work of one who wants to create something that just makes sense in his own head outside of the territorial restraints of predetermined genre tags. It's tight, proficient, emotional and heavy; I'd absolutely suggest it to those of you who have an interest in the musical styles mentioned earlier, and to any individual who may be looking for a refreshing breath of something that also breaks those barriers. Truly experimental music always seems to be the future of music, whatever that means to you, and this is no exception. Fantano's a fool for hypothetically giving this a 6.3.
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