Northern Liberties

"Suffocation"

by John Vettese

Call it a prog-noise opus. Call it a gathering thunderhead. Need a better categorization? You have plenty of time to think one up. The new 12" from captivating experimental punk trio Northern Liberties is 30 minutes of rumble, swell, shriek and release, a single thrilling song enveloping you in a manner that entire albums would struggle to match. The sludge riffing heard in the earlier part of "Suffocation" builds into pattering marching toms and mantra vocals, a beautiful feedback devotional. Then there's some distorted bad-trip synthesizer and pounding march to the sea — so much is going on here, so many bits to chew on as the music runs its course. The band calls this its winter song, recorded last December and debuted on the vernal equinox to exorcise those dark months. On a higher level, we've been mired in winter for much, much longer than that, and the band has tinkered with this composition for all that time, all those years. Look at this as a rapturous catharsis to usher forth brighter days.

Northern Liberties will perform "Suffocation" in its entirety only twice. This Friday at Johnny Brenda's will be one of those times.