There is a thing that happens when depression sets in. It feels like the weight of the world is crushing all will to move or function. The deafening distortion of reality obscures all familiar pathways to success. Momentum is impossible to define yet it’s so palpable that the feeling is overwhelming. When there is no movement, death is the only way forward. Yet, the primary instinct is survival. This is the unsolvable paradox that we must endure on a daily basis.

On “Primary Instinct’, Human Trophy’s second album of atmospheric, metal tinged death rock, these ideas put to music paint a relentlessly cold and antisocial portrait of human failure and the mystical propensity for violence.

Our take: Iron Lung Records brings us the second album from this grimy, noisy death rock band. Their first album came out on Drunken Sailor in 2021, and while we actually still have a couple copies in stock at Sorry State, I don’t think I listened to the band closely until now. Perhaps it’s that I approached Human Trophy at the right time of year—fall seems like the perfect time for death rock—but Primary Instinct has really been hitting the spot. Rather than “goth” or “post-punk,” “death rock” seems like the most appropriate genre tag for Primary Instinct because it’s so heavy and driving, and while the baritone vocals have shades of Ian Curtis, the more direct musical influences are in the Christian Death / Samhain school. As with those bands, there’s a sense of restraint to Human Trophy’s sound that imbues their music with ever-escalating tension that they rarely release. The first three songs on Primary Instinct feature ever-slowing tempos, and when they finally break out into something like a hardcore rhythm on “Devotion,” it feels like the first gasp of air after you’ve been holding your breath for a long time. One benefit of weaving this tension through Human Trophy’s music is that is focuses the listener’s attention, and when there’s a hook like the slightly bluesy, Cult-ish chorus in “Only a Knife” or the big guitar hook in “The Cabin,” it sinks in much deeper. The back half of Primary Instinct also offers some unique moments like the (comparatively) upbeat, sunny rhythm of “Serpentine Grin” (which reminds me a little of “I’ll Melt with You” by Modern English) and the shoegaze-y “Bright Like Perspex.” The murky sound and muted rhythms of Primary Instinct may take you a few listens to warm up to, but once it hits you, this record’s dense atmosphere and ambitious songwriting will keep you absorbed

• Label: Iron Lung Records
• Format Type: 12"
• Year: 2024