“Never nervous.“
Split releases seem to be making a comeback in recent years. Great examples include Death of Spring (For Your Health x Shin Guard) and Downfall of the Neon Youth, with the format providing a canvas for the artists to defy genres and expectations. Originally rooted in independent record labels, splits primarily serve to provide new fans to “underground” artists. This fits that bill well, highlighting two rather distinct acts. Tina Fey and Louise hail from Cincinnati and appear relatively new to the scene. Neither have a whole lot in common sonically, but they are described as “comrade acts” and have equal distaste for law enforcement.
From the start, Tina Fey steals the show. After getting some Philadelphia area press for their name, this split marks their debut (as far as I can tell). Though they are self described as close to grindcore, the sound proves to be more akin to noise rock. Opening track “Nuremberged” darts out with some grind feel, but a whining riff in the left channel marks a quick shift. Suddenly, the thing breaks down into a post-punky wall behind some lazily chucked spoken word. Unexpected given the initial description, but a plenty welcome blend with the heavier screaming layered beneath as well. “…Officer” continues along similar lines, a scathing rebuke of police that blows itself apart into nearly two minutes of feedback and noise.
As an introduction to the band, it’s incredibly intriguing by the dynamic nature of their sound alone. Being born out of the demise of mathcore group Eunoia provides the most solid clue of what might be to come, but in the meantime I’ll be waiting for more with bated breath.
9/10
On the other side of the split, Louise has a demo from 2021 making up the entirety of their prior footprint. With the unenviable task of following up Tina Fey, their contribution lacks quite the same firepower. “Desert Serpent” shows off a hardcore-punk influenced take, which certainly proves competent if nothing else. The sound overall might remind you of fellow Ohioans Lakota de Kai, with perhaps a little less of The Chariot going on and a bit more My Iron Lung, but in that same vein. A melancholic riff drives the brief “Boulder” off to complete the showcase. This track might be a bit more interesting despite its short run time, but all told, they get less than five minutes of run time here.
6.5/10
On the whole, I would have liked to have more time with Louise to see where the sound developed. As it stands, the Tina Fey portion of the split will get most of the replays and attention, demonstrating an incredibly exciting and malleable style with which they can really go anywhere. Both groups undoubtedly have potential, and their values clearly align, but in this case the former half shines much brighter. Either way, at just over 10 minutes in total, the juice here on this latest addition to the classic split trend is well worth the squeeze to dive into the full thing.
Tina Fey // Louise releases this Friday, April 7th via Nefarious Industries, and you can find pre-orders here.