Album review: Teen Suicide – Nude descending staircase headless

There’s very little straightforward in the world of Teen Suicide. Existing for years in the no-man’s land between offbeat, lo-fi indie rock and grungy, amp-rattling noise pop, Baltimore husband-and-wife duo Sam and Kitty Ray have instinctively gravitated to the brittleness and vulnerability of stripped down writing and recording thus far. Favourites from their back catalogue like no, the moon and everything is going to hell unspool with the nostalgic hiss of bedroom tape recorders. But this first proper studio release cranks everything up.

Sleepy opener Anhedonia (named after the reduced ability to feel pleasure or interest in previously enjoyed pursuits) begins at a tentative creep but blooms into a cathartic, feedback-laden swell in its massive second half. Idiot front loads the bratty vocals and ear-punching guitars before spiralling off into more abstract noodling. It’s not until he catchy jangle of Suffering (Mike’s Way) that they sound themselves – albeit with added polish.

Flicking through the band’s official Songs That Inspired Our Album playlist on Spotify is telling. Ricocheting from Christina Aguilera and Radiohead to Nirvana, Aphex Twin, Fugazi, Frank Zappa and even Bell Witch, clearly there’s a lot swirling beneath the surface. It’s to their immense credit when they channel that into the accessibly angsty Spiders or the sweet overdrive of Living Death. But you’re rewarded for digging in, too, beckoned ever deeper.

Still, Nude descending staircase headless is unapologetically not an album for everyone. Sure, there are flashes of instrumental brilliance, and massive hooks with shots of riot grrrl attitude on Candy / Squeeze and Keeping Her Keys, but they’re wrapped in layers of disorienting post-rock, sort of like a more melodic Sonic Youth being remixed by Mogwai. But it’s very much worth sticking around for the truly excellent moments, like the woozily seductive Hypnotic poison and wonderfully-titled lament Not born to run. Will such natural experimentalists stick with this bigger-sounding new direction for long? Fuck knows. But it’s fascinating while it lasts.

Verdict: 3/5

For fans of: Pixies, Sonic Youth, Shellac

Nude descending staircase headless is released on April 17 via Run For Cover.