Of all the bands to come out of Chicago in recent years, none have divided opinion quite like The Orwells. Formed when all five members were still in high school, they had already released their debut album before reaching adulthood. Atlantic Records then signed up the five-piece which lead to second LP Disgraceland. During this time the group developed a reputation for being a group of rowdy, suburban adolescents who created angry, yet sometimes catchy, garage-punk.

However, signing to a major brings its complications and the group were thrust into the limelight sooner than they would have wished, without the chance to grow an organic fanbase. You could argue that this at least propelled them on tours with the likes of Arctic Monkeys and a spot on shows such as Letterman. Nevertheless, they’ve always given the impression of a band that has not yet had the chance to fully develop its sound.

Three years have since passed and Terrible Human Beings now shows evidence that they may be on the way to finding their true voice. Recorded over the course of a month at Chicago’s Electrical Audio, the self-described “Mutilated pop songs” do indeed have a melodic core buried away within their rough frameworks, but this time with more of an emphasis placed on minimalist structures, sharp riffs, slower build ups and dynamic shifts.

Guitarist Matt O’Keefe explained the slight change in style, “Pixies were an obsession when we were writing this album. I think that’s where a lot of trying to make the songs and the guitar parts very simple was coming from, because the Pixies are kings of that.” He’s not wrong, with certain parts of the LP even bordering on a Pixies pastiche. But although this replication feels like a natural evolution for The Orwells, they don’t yet possess the cutting humour or melodical knack to fully realise it. Yet.

One line which could have been lifted straight from Surfer Rosa is “Told me ‘Act your age’/That’s why she’s underage,” on opening track ‘They Put A Body In The Bayou.’ The self-awareness and depreciative nature of lyrics such as this from frontman Mario Cuomo hint at a burgeoning maturity. The 13 tracks seem straightforward rock tracks on the surface, but there are fragments of evolution bubbling underneath. This is palpable in the likes of ‘Hippie Soldier’ and ‘Black Francis’ (they weren’t lying about the Pixies influence). This pair of radio friendly compositions unveil themselves after numerous listens to be carefully crafted pieces of indie-pop within a hotbed of rumbling guitar bends and catchy vocal hooks.

Jim Abbiss has also managed to construct a far less polished record in comparison to Disgraceland– an album often cited as being over-produced and not representative of the band’s raucous live performances. One of Terrible Human Beings’ finest tracks ‘Buddy’ is a perfect example of this (despite its one-minute lifespan), with the producer delicately creating a distinct rawness to the production whilst maintaining the subtle nuances of the intricate guitar riffs and pulsating rhythmic churns.

There is one track, however, that will define this record and that is closer ‘Double Feature’. Easily their most experimental and groove-oriented recording to date, it hints at the band’s future direction. Clocking in at over seven minutes, it is the first ever Orwells song that has been given space to expand, with the final three minutes breaking down into a slow instrumental build that features spikey guitar lines, pounding bass, and raucous howls before erupting into a climactic wall of noise. If the Ohio natives are to be in it for the long game, then they’ll need to make tracks like this more of a regular occurrence.
Paul Hill

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