Drill - The Last Taboo of America

It’s titled The Last Taboo of America and the band describe its opening track as “a door left open into the sound of a war machine warming up for destruction,” though it sounds more like a muffled washing machine warming up for a spin cycle to these ears. And just in case Drill’s Serious Intentions are still not crystal clear, they conclude their new mini-album - arriving after a 13 year hiatus - with foreign correspondent Robert Fisk decrying the United States’ cosy relationship with Israel over industrial whirs, before obliterating his voiceover with a blast of digital noise. It’s a gloomy, doom-filled half-hour that sounds excitingly Tool-like on tracks like Pitmanic, where syncopated beats lead in unexpected directions and guitar riffs intertwine to noisy effect. But all too often the band indulge in ambient meanderings that presumably aim for dystopian dread but induce yawns more often than despair. [Chris Buckle]