Aihotz is a Spanish punk band who have a lot of strong, vicious energy- like the spirit of a panther pulsing out of a full-stack speaker. The style of punk they germinate is pretty popular in some circles right now- sharp and austere grooves, with blitzing tempos and heavily distorted vocals. It's kind of like a post-punk version of Discharge- although, in this case, Aihotz leans a little closer to a crusty, speed-riddled version of TSOL.
While some of what they're doing is familiar, I haven't heard a band play with their guitar distortion or the reverb that they put on the vocals in a comparable way. Aihotz are very enthusiastic about the noise they are able to generate on their 7" Matar al superhombre. However, they're not just making a racket for its own sake. Aihotz are clearly not trying to show off to a bunch of gear heads and prove that they can raise just as much of a nasty ruckus as any other cohort of squatters who might be passing through with a pedalboard in tow. They have something else in mind entirely.
The way Aihotz force razor wire textured masses of distortion to collide against each other, and the restraint with which they deploy such chaotic elements, gives the impression that they are attempting to unlock something in your mind rather than simply bust your eardrums, and the combination of sonics lends to a darkly lysergic quality to Matar al superhombre.
What you will encounter on this album may cause your senses to become overwhelmed. Your orientation to become inverted. And your state of mind to be called into question. You may find yourself questioning whether you are enjoying one of the best highs of your life, or if your synapses are rapidly dying as they liquify, with your poor boiled brain spurting out from behind your eyelids like melted strawberry icecream showering from a defective soft-serve machine. It's effectively antagonistic and delightfully deranged, and I'm not sure you can ask more from a punk record in 2021.
