Bloody Panda "Pheromone" (Level Plane)
By Jeff Treppel
Monday. Jun 11, 11:16 AM
Music that goes bump in the night.

Although Bloody Panda are nominally doom metal, don't go in expecting Yob or even Shape Of Despair. Instead, this particular collective falls into the ever-growing trend of "metal made by people that listen to indie rock." Of course, what else would you expect from a group that consists of a diminutive Japanese woman with no musical training backed up by a gang of roving New York art rockers? As strange a combination as that may be, the band's extraordinary pedigree is what makes Pheromone such an unexpected... well, delight isn't quite the right word, considering what a downer it is, but somewhere in that vicinity.

Whereas most doom acts go for monumentally crushing riffage or sheer despair, Bloody Panda aim to unsettle. These songs move at a St. Vitus crawl, traveling through stark, empty space right to that part of your brain that makes you wonder if you just have an itch or if a spider is burrowing into your skin to lay its egg sac. Rocket engine feedback rumbles through the ether, the organ plays hymns to some Lovecraftian nightmare, and each and every one of Dan Weiss's drum hits shudder through your spine. Over it all, Yoshiko Ohara unleashes her mournful wail, moaning indecipherable nothings like "Someday you'll freeze / and pray to ice / your head preserved in a case," in both Japanese and English. Her vocal chords are this crimson-stained bear's claws: sharp, powerful, and pretty unforgettable when you come into contact with them. Ohara never resorts to histrionics like Julie Christmas, preferring to let her haunting voice work its way into your psyche. It's an unnerving performance that sticks with you long after the CD stops spinning.

And that's another nice thing about Pheromone: it's very concise. The record's four song and 39 minute length means that it never wears out its welcome by droning on and on and on and on. Bloody Panda get in, do their job, and leave you feeling just the right amount of creeped-out for the rest of the evening. This being what it is, none of the songs really stand out from the others, but the sheer heaviness of "Coma" would probably appeal the most to the Neurisis set. It's more about the overarching mood of the piece, and they certainly nail that.

Pheromone might not sit well with novices to the indie doom scene. However, there's a lot to like here for adventurous metal and indie rock followers: especially Boris and Earth fanatics, who should enjoy this pleasantly gloomy change of scenery while they wait at their computers for the next Sunn O))) limited edition live 2xLP to go on sale.
www.bloodypanda.com
www.level-plane.com

Jeff Treppel

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