I don't remember being blown away by this album the first time I heard it, nor do I remember the exact point I realised it was brilliant, but it happened sometime between March and December 2016; March was when I bought it and December was when I placed it at number 4 in my albums of the year list. I have distinct memories of being sat at my desk and thinking "I want to listen to that Rope album" and, more often, "I really want to play that Rope album again".
The reason I got into Rope was quite simple - I knew the singer, Kai, from my Cardiff days and have been listening to his various bands for many years. He was good friends with my old housemate Nicky, in a band and a regular at all the local punk shows. He was a few years younger than us so his enthusiasm definitely helped us get more excited about some shows. Plus, he had a car and would drive us back from Le Pub. The first band I heard he was doing after I left Cardiff wasn't a punk band but doom metal, which I was not expecting but enjoyed. They were called Hunger Artist, wrote a three-song 44-minute album and released only one cassette, which I duly bought. I liked the music that happened when Kai went metal.
Some years passed and I heard he was in a new band called Rope. The album came out at the start of 2016 and I bought a copy when I was in All Ages a short while later. I'd heard only two things about the album - it was heavy but pretentious. The first is certainly true, and based on the number of quotes, literally references and some of those song titles, I could see how someone would reach the other conclusion. I don't mind it - in fact, being a Manics fan means I've got quite used to seeing quotes all over album sleeves.
Regarding the heaviness, Rope are brilliantly slow and heavy. It's less metal than Hunger Artist, but the result is a sort of doom-Shellac - the songs are quite sparse and at times angular, but everything is played so slowly and thoughtfully; songs shift at unexpected times. Highlights are The Perks of Being (seamlessly blending in some sports commentary) and Crisis on Infinite Earth, although it's only six songs so you might as well listen to them all. The drums on Ignatius (A Plague of Dunces) are particularly excellent.
2018 brought around another Rope album, and another entry in the top half of my end of year list (at number 3). I'll write more about that one another time, but I thoroughly recommend checking both albums out.
Format: 12", insert, poster
Tracks: 6
Cost: £11 new
Bought: All Ages Records, London
When: 25/03/16
Colour: Clear
Etching: none
mp3s: none
