HUMAN IMPACT
Gone Dark
IPECAC
8/10
NOISE ROCK: Chris Spencer and Jim Coleman, Human Impact’s principles, have a friendship that extends back to the dirty, violent, and despondent streets of 80s New York City. Specifically, the Lower East Side where Spencer’s Unsane and Coleman’s Cop Shoot Cop shared a practice space. It took 30-some-odd years of discussion, but the pair finally began making music together, with the result being Human Impact’s 2020’s self-titled debut. Time and lockdowns have added drummer Jon Syverson (ex-Daughters) and Eric Cooper (ex-Made Out of Babies) to the mix, providing a solid rhythm section for Spencer and Coleman to duke it out Battle Royale style in the songwriting ring.
Battle Royale is probably making things sound much more dramatic than actuality, as the combination of styles—Spencer bringing the singularity of Unsane’s noise rock linearity and Coleman creating a vast array of complementary soundscapes, melodies, and sonic whatnot—manages to exist as individual entities while blending together for the greater good of the music. Picture Human Impact as the caustic and cantankerous sonic version of an Oreo or Seinfeld-ian black and white cookie. No one can deny that the starting line is Spencer and his know-it-when-you-hear-it raunchy, bluesy style of aggressive aggravation and strained vocals. In fact, there are more than a few moments when it seems like Spencer may have been writing for the next Unsane record—a record that apparently ain’t ever coming—but ended up shifting the material towards this particular on-ramp, with everything being elevated by Syverson’s robust and manic drumming style. Coleman does his thing with whatever he does his thing with—that thing being enhancing the riffs and arrangements with electronics, noises, melodies, keyboard swells, and samples, rejigged and otherwise.
Where Gone Dark triumphs over the band’s debut is in its dedication to a louder, more raucous, and guitar-driven approach—hence the Unsane leanings—with Coleman’s contributions taking more of a back seat in the mix. The interesting thing is that despite that fact, what he adds ends up being more effective and impactful. The staccato brass blasts twisted around copper live wires in “Disconnect” are especially punchy melodies that lurch like latter-day Cop Shoot Cop in “Hold On,” and the angelic engine soaring alongside the blower bass in “Collapse” is musical sublimity. As well, the band excels in their growth and amalgamation in “Destroy to Rebuild,” which features all members playing to the hilt as the sonic wash and pulsing rhythmic thumping elements mesh with arpeggiated dynamics and finely placed backing vocals. Great stuff! ~ Kevin Stewart-Panko
