Demo 2008

Like peas in a pod or Siamese twins, it is nearly impossible to mention either Furdidurke or Cirrhus without the other getting involved. It's unknown exactly how many members they share - those CW guys seem to like to keep the exact lineups for their projects on the down-low - but I get the feeling that there's something else shared between them besides just a vocalist and a record label. They have similar aesthetics and seemingly similar goals as bands. Really, the most important difference is that it's possible to listen to (some) Cirrhus material and derive enjoyment from it without hating art and life. Perhaps this demo isn't the best example of that, but nevertheless, it demonstrates the point.

Cirrhus sounds like the project into which all the actually nice-sounding riffs from Furdidurke writing sessions get dumped. Both bands are extremely raw, but while Furdidurke are mostly just unpleasant, Cirrhus actually boast an arsenal of relatively organic and agreeable melodies. Relatively simple, wholesome and basely satisfying melodies bounce around rigidly-framed songs, the tempo and rhythm usually held deathly still while the riffs shuffle around within. Some extremely low-presence rasped vocals add... something to the music, I guess, and the drumming is competent if unremarkable (very loud and clanky cymbals, occasional alternation between mid-paced Bone Awl stomping and outright blast beats). Honestly, with all of that described, there's not much else to say about this release. It's got a very simple formula - riffs, drums, almost-vocals - out of which it manages to squeeze a solid half-hour of music.

...But in an ideal world, it would probably be much, much shorter. The problem with Cirrhus (and this applies to pretty much all their releases to date, to some extent or another) is that there is zero sense of dynamics. None. The tempo remains totally and utterly static, the music never speeds up or slows down or changes moods, and the vocals are buried too deeply to define sections of the songs by their presence or lack thereof. You turn on a Cirrhus song and it stays the exact same throughout its entire running time. This would be fine if the songs were brief, but dear god, they're anything but. Have you ever heard anybody level the complaint towards ...And Justice for All that Metallica just played every single song twice? Those sorts of people would probably think that Cirrhus play the same song in reverse, right after the original song ends, and then repeat that twice. Riffs are repeated out the wazoo here, and with no real indicators for dynamics, the songs mostly just feel like they meander around for however long they're allowed to exist, then end. It makes for a tiresome listen, even if the individual riffs are good.

I can't really recommend that anybody listen to this unless they're the most diehard fan of Cirrhus ever; my brain starts to fry after just ten minutes of music this insular and self-absorbed. It's decent in short spurts, but definitely not outfitted to handle its running time - just short of an hour, if you decide to listen to the instrumental tracks on the B-side. (By the way, what the fuck is the point of that with this release? The vocals are so buried by the guitar fuzz and their own static that they're hardly even there. It's not like releasing the music without vocals significantly changes the experience.) Maybe I'm just underestimating people's willingness to hate themselves - go ahead, try it. I warned you.