Girth may be the only Seattle band that can appeal to metal heads and to experimental-noise freaks. While bringing the velocity and power chordage young rockers demand, the trio also wield strange dynamics, textures, and time signatures that lure cacophony connoisseurs who've never made devil horns. This is evident on Girth's turbulent debut, Living in Truth (available from www.houseofgirth.com). But live shows are where they really let loose the juice.
Drummer Peijman Kouretchian is a visual analogue to Girth's music. With his six-foot-four frame topped with a Sly Stone c. 1971 'fro, the sticksman looks like a walking mushroom cloud. Once he gets behind his kit, the analogy doesn't seem so ludicrous; Kouretchian's energy is positively nuclear. Guitarist Dave Webb matches the crazy-calculus rhythms with precise flurries of metallic haymakers that sting with sadistic vengeance.
Girth recently added Golgothan Sunrise keyboardist/guitarist Andrew McInnis to the lineup. "He's definitely added a third dimension and made things a lot more musical and overwhelming," says Webb.
The new power-trio alignment will cut another album with producer Randall Dunn (who helmed Truth). "The playing is much more emotional and on the edge than the last record. This should be a killer headphone record, but it'll still bite your head off," enthuses Webb.
"We're also going to follow this piece up with another full-length that is going in a way more brutal direction," Webb threatens. "We've been writing a ton of grind; I really like to keep moving forward with each recording."
