Womankind (Nominal)

There’s a battle going on within the ranks of local posthardcore nutters Womankind, and it’s for who gets to man the microphone. The troupe’s four-song debut splits singing duties between guitarist Chris Harris and bass player Scott Malin, but the results of the EP suggest the latter may have outshone his band buddy this time around.

For his part, Harris is full of energy, but his manic tics on the opener, “2 Out of 10”, come off as unfocused. Even though the track runs hard on a solid foundation of propulsive drum work and tightly coiled six-string licks, the axe wielder’s vocals on the number range from exasperated to completely inaudible, almost as if he was running around the recording studio, only occasionally singing into the mike. “Miami Tan” follows suit as a decadent, free-noise guitar lead accompanies his garbled cries. At times his musings brings to mind David Yow, but Harris sounds too self-aware to stack up to the former Jesus Lizard madman. Mind you, Malin’s screaming is no more comprehensible, but his commanding cries on the punishing slow jam “Five” are mixed well enough that you can feel his rage.

The closer, “Fang Fang”, delivers Womankind’s most potent punk burst. Between its solid classic-rock riffing, Malin’s passionate hollering, and the hammered-out rhythms, it sounds like mid-’90s emo, or maybe Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” on amphetamines. Who knows how the vocal duties will be split between the pair in the future, but an argument could certainly be made for making Malin Womankind’s main man.