- London duo Shitwife are a live act to behold. They are Henri Grimes, former drummer of math rock group Shield Your Eyes, and gabber and breakcore producer Wayne Adams (AKA Ladyscraper). Together they make what you might imagine: noisy, hardcore electronics with a seething metal edge. And it's lots of fun. Their music nods to vintage Planet Mu, Rephlex and Warp—they do a great cover of "Come To Daddy"—and live hardcore acts like Atari Teenage Riot. But in truth, Shitwife have their own thing going on.
Death To The Metal, for Rotterdam institution PRSPCT, is a dynamic pedal-to-the-metal ride through aggy pseudo-rock electronics. From the distressed bass thrums opening "Death To The Metal" to the searing guitar in "Henris Massive Phone," the reward here—and Shitwife's ultimate sell—is hearing rock instrumentation grind against synthetic noises in a sweaty, twisted duel. (They duo face each other when performing, literally going head to head.) "Debbie Harry Wet Dream" is as good as it gets on this EP. Adams builds a digital melee with things like jangling harpsichord keys, accelerated acid rips and bass guitar. Meanwhile, Grimes's drumming matches the whiplash breaks with jaw-dropping skill. Shitwife's debut album, Big Lad, might have sounded a tad over-buffed for this raw, rambunctious and wonderfully imperfect live band, but Death To The Metal feels closer to their boisterous stage show.
TracklistA1 Death To The Metal
A2 Debbie Harry Wet Dream
B1 Lazer Thrash
B2 Henris Massive Phone