September 11, 2002

The first time I saw Nigel Pepper Cock I was not impressed. Opening for doom/stoner lords High on Fire at the Justice League, they were pretending to be born-again Christians intent on lecturing the crowd about their sinful ways and so forth. (They are known for having a different theme for each show.) While I gave them credit for being brave enough to play the "enemy" in front of an unsuspecting crowd, only the thickest of the thick would have believed the act. I mention this show, though, only to point out what a pleasant surprise it was to find how good The New Way is. It brings to mind some debauched Black Flag-meets-black metal hybrid. The drumming puts it squarely in punk-hardcore turf, but the gaudy keyboards, voice samples, and occasional Swedish-accented Slayer riff cause the genre lines to blur a little. They also turn in a song called "Respect" that suddenly breaks into a call-and-response section from the Aretha Franklin song of the same name. It's silly, and in questionable taste, but what else can you expect from a band with members named Captain Cum Socks and Deuce Labia and who, in 2002, have written a song about O.J. Simpson ("O.J.'s Wild Ride")? I still don't think I'm on their page, humorwise, but as long as they keep making music like this, I can keep my mouth shut. (Will York)

Live Human

Live (C.O.D.)

Live Human are a sight to behold in concert, one of the few bands capable of playing hard bop in a hip-hop context. Their music is hard, thanks to bassist Andrew Kushin's rough, angular chords and Albert Mathias's sharp, cymbal-filled percussion. Turntable musician DJ Quest's cuts are swift and uncompromising, and his dexterity allows him to scratch along to Kushin and Mathias's backbeats and juggle snippets from various obscure records over them. The result is an amalgamation of jazz and hip-hop styles, a blend other, better-known groups like the Roots have long championed with decidedly warm and smooth results.