Every bio of Akron/Family mentions some sort of tidbit about the band’s members forming their own religion, vacationing next to active volcanoes, ripping off Dan Deacon or being a precious folky act. Powerviolence act Man Is the Bastard think the band is “human manure” and “goddamned thieves,” but that’s because the A/F fellas lifted MITB’s skull logo for a shirt design. No matter what you think of this world-trotting trio, they can’t be accused of being unadventurous. After six records sporting influences such as Nick Drake, Lightning Bolt and woolly-era Beach Boys, the group released last summer on Dead Oceans, a double LP thrill-ride that reimagines their 2011 album S/T II: The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinju TNT as “distorted fantasy noise,” which doesn’t quite do it justice. At times ugly, brutal and trying, but never boring. CRAIG HLAVATY
This article appears in Sep 6-12, 2012.