Britches, a local trio of sound-manglers and song deconstructionists, is in the midst of an EP spree. This August the band released the eight-track Democracy, comprising a KDHX (88.1 FM) live session and a few early recordings; Demolition is reportedly forthcoming. So Demonstration is the four-song middle movement, and the title is both fitting and misleading. This isn't a basement four-track demo reel, but instead a little taste of what the band does. Each track occupies its own space, demonstrating the various ways in which sound can leave your speakers and burrow into your skull. As noise purveyors go, the band can be as punishing as the Conformists and as fuzz-blasted and experimental as Skarekrau Radio — one pass at the increasingly unhinged screams and relentless pneumatic percussion on opening track "Blue Ruin" gives a taste of the band's hazy heaviness. "Out of the Cave, Up to the Stronghold" takes the most patience; its backward-tape manipulations and ascetic vocal drones show the band at its most outré, especially set against the stop-start rock of the next track, "We're Both Ready."
From a purely technical standpoint, the EP is a fascinating listen, leaving you to ponder at how these sounds get transmitted from the players' brains through their instruments via a mess of cables and effects. The eleven-minute closing track "Triangle Jerk" features, among other sounds, a really passable impression of a fervent, yowling cat. Save for the impressive, cherubic choirboy harmonies at the tail the aforementioned "Out of the Cave," Britches plays rough. Get settled in for 23 abrasive, often invigorating minutes.
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