The second full-length record from this
strange, little known band from Portland, Oregon is an inconsistent delight. At
its best, it’s top 5 material, but it has some dips (e.g., take the incessant cowbell
on ‘Flat Circle’ – unwise) which have meant that it’s ended up mid-table.
Playing around with fuzz-grunge, psychedelia, stoner rock and prog, Charley
No Face are on a trip. And they seem not to care all that much
whether you want to come with them. Take the largely instrumental 9-minute
closer, ‘Death Mask’, which makes no concession to palatability: a swirling,
bass-driven epic that’s as rudderless as it is fun. ‘Satan’s Hand’ is another
long one – clocking in at over 7 minutes – and the first 2 of those are just
scene setting, before things come on all lethargic Black Sabbath. Opener
‘Eyes’ is my favourite here, a track built on an odd drum lick but propelled by
a drawling riff that sounds like Soundgarden slowed to quarter speed. Charley
No Face are the sort of band that pre-internet would have struggled to get
a record deal but would have had a small band of adoring fans in their home
town; now they can reach across the globe. Unapologetically weird, and, admittedly, with some bits that don’t really work, there are nonetheless gems
aplenty to be found on Eleven Thousand Volts.