Ansome is a producer and DJ from Cornwall, currently signed to Perc Trax Records. His brand of hardware-heavy electronic music is pummeling, to say the least, as evidenced by his 2016 debut Stowaway. A split EP and a handful of collaborations later, and we now have Hounds of the Harbour, and these hounds are crunching skulls all day. The album cover is of Ansome himself in a yellow get-up, and there isn’t much else to derive from it. By no means should a prospective listener judge this record by its cover, as there are hammering rhythms and thumping bass abound the twelve tracks that comprise the record. Do not take this album lightly, as it will hit you over the head with a ten-pound hammer and drag you away for the duration.
After the opener “Heaviest Fucking Acid Trip in the Universe,” which is a phone call professing what is in the title, Ansome goes “Pedal to the Metal” with a bruiser of a proper first track, as it builds upon itself into a fuzzy, distorted wonder. “Copper” is heavy, but still very danceable and groove-laden. “Hunger” thumps along with cacophonous percussion, sounding hellish, yet hella, as the kids might say.
“Smuggler’s Den” is bass-heavy and rattling, but again so catchy. The title track takes a more ambient and atmospheric approach, before “Melting Point” gets right back to stomping and crunching away. “Chocka Block” is intense, with booming samples and rhythms coming in hotter than anything else on the disc. “Last Bottle” is gloomy and imposing, but that’s also saying it like nothing else on the album thus far has been.
“Hell for Leather” has a great progression and build, while the eerie synths on “The Smell of Rabble” add another layer of intrigue and unease. Closing out the record is “Manifesto,” a fitting closer in title and execution, stopping the onslaught of Hounds of the Harbour after roughly fifty-seven minutes.
For the electronic music fan who prefers a little crunch in their musical diet, Hounds of the Harbour is for you. It’s a heavyweight of a tonal experience, with plenty of brutal sounds and crushing tones abound.
Hounds of the Harbour can be purchased through the Perc Trax Bandcamp profile and Amazon.
