Daughters -- Canada Songs
Robotic Empire; 2003

"Hello, operator?"

"Yes, how may I direct your call?"

"Oh my god, oh my god, someone's in the house!!"

"Ma'am, are you okay? Would you like me to call the police?"

"I can hear footsteps, oh god! You have to help me! I thought I was alone, but-"

The phone goes dead and the operator curses into a dial tone.

The TV station goes to commercial and the viewer is left speechless, mortified that they might be the killer's next victim. Canada Songs, the first "full-length" effort from technical grind band Daughters, is the perfect supplement to this terror.

Canada Songs is a 10 track cacophony that presents a great deal of talent. The guitarists show their skills with guitar lines wound so tight they could sever body parts. Their sound ranges from ear-splitting chromatic jangles to chugging riffs that demolish. The drummer also shows off his chops by pummeling the listener with double bass and blastbeats at breakneck speeds. The bassist even gets a moment to shine, sneaking in elastic basslines that slither around the guitar stabs. Topping off the mix are vocabulary-stretching lyrics sung with a schizophrenic twist -- shifting from larynx-piercing screams to apathetic mumbling.

Although the songs of Canada Songs suffer from homogeny, the terse nature of the album prevents it from becoming tedious. In its brief running time of 10 blistering minutes, Canada Songs blinds the listener with a chaotic fury, leaving them in a state of disbelief: they were horrified, but they actually liked it.