Rockbites: San Diego’s The Locust make the big time

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April 2003 • Rockbites Alternative Daily

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San Diego’s The Locust make the big time
21 April 2003

With a 23 track album that hits and runs in a scant 21 minutes without looking back, San Diego extreme/ experimental/ art-punk four-piece The Locust have nabbed a deal with Anti records, a subsidiary of Epitaph—one of the most successful indie imprints in the world these days. Still owned by founder Brett Gurewitz of Bad Religion, Epitaph has survived for 22 years and now includes the Burning Heart and Hellcat imprints in addition to Anti. It counts among its artists Tom Waits, The Hives, Merle Haggard, Nick Cave, and Daniel Lanois.
    The new Locust album boasts the catchy title Plague Soundscapes and includes tracks like Solar Panel Asses, Psychic Sasquatch, Priest With The Sexually Transmitted Diseases Get Out Of My Bed, and Captain Gaydar Turn On Your Radar.
    Like a gallery exhibit in which every painting is of a house on fire, Plague Soundscapes is neither subtle nor easily penetrable. But god knows the music industry needs some perspective—and if you’ve got the musical stomach for it, the forthcoming album is a revelation. Guitarist Bobby Bray said recently, “I think that there’s definitely plenty of room in the mainstream for music to evolve as society evolves.” Vocalist/bassist Justin Pearson pulls no punches on the topic. “I just want to change the way people look at music, or maybe just destroy it in general. Things are so normal, safe. 4/4 timing, blah. Sometimes it makes me want to throw up.”
    Plague Soundscapes hits US retail on 24 June. We’ll bring you a review then. | The Locust | | Anti Records | | recent interview on The Stranger | | The Locust bulletin board | | top of page |

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