Fight Amp Hungry for Nothing

New Jersey's Fight Amp, the newest addition to Translation Loss' roster, has crafted a unique sound on their debut full-length, Hungry for Nothing. Best described as a more punk-influenced Unsane or Jesus Lizard, Fight Amp offers up healthy portions of distorted bass lines, abrasive guitars and pummeling drumming, making Hungry for Nothing an excellent example of a noise-rock-meets-punk-meets-hardcore crossover record. In fact, Fight Amp's interesting mix of influences and superb execution make it a no-brainer to label Hungry for Nothing as one of the first great records of 2008. "Dead is Dead" throws Hungry for Nothing into gear with a thick layer of grit on everything. Gritty riffs. Gritty bass tone. Gritty vocals. Add all of those elements on top of a solid foundation of forceful, but not overly showy drumming and it's impossible not to love what Fight Amp has accomplished. "Late Bloomer" locks into a more mid-tempo groove and shows off their strong Jesus Lizard influence with howling guitars over a driving bass line. "Bound and Hagged" provides yet another dose of piercing guitar work, but provides a welcome vocal change as the band's female guitarist lends her coarse yell to the track. Hungry for Nothing also succeeds due to its perfect serving size, with only eight tracks clocking in at around thirty minutes. With the exception of the more spaced out, six-minute long "Get High and Fuck," the majority of the record sticks to a driving pace, avoiding any possibility of growing tiresome. It is in this respect that Hungry for Nothing stands out amongst its noise rock brethren, as even fellow Jesus Lizard-ites Young Widows fell victim to a few monotonous moments on their otherwise solid debut, Settle Down City. Thanks to Fight Amp's more focused songwriting and hardcore/punk lean, Hungry for Nothing is confidently propelled along, making the disc successful in providing a robust slab of noise rock for the new year. Bottom Line: The ever-expanding Translation Loss has done the music world yet another favor by offering up Fight Amp's debut full-length, Hungry for Nothing. Or maybe it is Fight Amp who has done Translation Loss the favor by crafting an early favorite in 2008. Either way, Fight Amp's mixture of hardcore and punk urgency with the gritty noise rock influences of Unsane and the Jesus Lizard is a lethal combination. Don't hesitate for a second to buy this record.