Linnéa Olsson has nearly three decades of rocking under her belt, having served in Stockholm heavy metal bands Sonic Ritual and Slingblade, the one-off psych noir/doom project The Oath in 2012 with Johanna Sardonis (now in Lucifer), and a stint in Finnish post-punkers Beastmilk/Grave Pleasures. Her second full-length as Maggot Heart (she’s the mastermind/overlord in a revolving cast of musicians the way Josh Homme is with Queens of the Stone Age) is the most successful realization of her artistic vision yet.
She’s stuck with the hard rocking garage noir/post-punk/noise rock template established on Dusk To Dusk (2018), but refined her formula into increasingly distinctive, memorable songs. Produced by Les Big Byrd keyboardist Martin “Konie” Ehrencrona (Refused, Viagra Boys), Mercy Machine tackles a fairly diverse range of styles, presented as a cohesive whole.
Opener “Second Class” starts with an atonal, clanging guitar din that could have been pulled from a mid-80s Sonic Youth session. The second half shows how Olsen has worked on her vocals, leveling up from previous efforts that reminded me of Thalia Zedek (Come). “Sex Breath” is a fast rocker with a melodic, surf noir guitar lead. “Justin” features some tribal drums that recall early Killing Joke, while “Roses” is perhaps the most melodic offering from Olsson so far.
The guitar sounds merit close attention, as every song evokes appealing flashbacks to Babes In Toyland (title track) and The Jesus Lizard (“High Rise”) and the sinister, darkwave moments of 1981 era Comsat Angels (“Senseless”). Closer “Modern Cruelty” wraps it up with some of the heaviest moments that include a bit of technical thrash style shredding.
This album scratches a fierce, angry itch that few can this year. It may be shut out by major critical gatekeepers, but this is too good not to find a diverse audience of heshers, post-punkers and guitar worshippers to sustain this special project.
