“Thriller” is an opaque piece of work. With 7 members in it’s ensemble, it’s not hard to imagine the group producing a dense wall of sound. Can’t say I’ve heard anything this thick since I last listened to SUPERCONDUCTOR or GOD. Where the former had an emphasis on guitars (six of them), the latter with three bassists; this camp has got quite a bit of drums. That said, 5 of it’s members are multi-instrumentalist so there could be as many as 3 or 4 guitars going on at once. It’s clear that GORCH FOCK is a product of late 80’s and 90’s underground rock (can’t use the word “indie” anymore since having been co-opted by the mindless masses) which they wear proudly on their sleeves.

Of the 14 tracks present, SCRATCH ACID’s pummeling “Mary Had A Little Drug Problem” (one of yours truly’s personal faves) and NOMEANSNO’s “The River” get their mad makeovers. And while we are on the subject of NONMEANSNO a good portion of the vocals throughout “Thriller” have that Rob Wright sheen. The vocals are also not too far different from Peter Prescott (drums/vocals for VOLCANO SUNS and MISSION OF BURMA) albeit a little less melodic. The disc’s opener “Executive 3000” drives this point home rather effectively. That said, it would be nice if there were a singer present with more range. “Bourbon Country” sounds like it could have been lifted right off a COWS record. “Megumi Miyazato” follows a fairly similar formula but more original in the process. “Youth At Risk” and “Running Out Of Gas In Prarview Parish” have also got the horn honks but there is definitely a tad more emphasis on progressive parts, dynamics and overall songwriting ability. The latter of the two tunes being the high point of “Thrilller”.

As much as I dig the auditory aspects of all things Gorch, “Thrilller” is essentially upstaged by it’s own cover artwork. The Win Wallace paintings are very disturbing yet strikingly beautiful at the same time. It’s as if the fine folks at Australian Cattle God Records are as assiduous about the way their releases look as they sound. As for the fine folks in GF; thanks for temporarily transporting back into a time when it appeared that music mattered more than fashion and “indie rock” had a literal meaning.

- Herring

OFFICIAL SITE: myspace.com/gorchfock

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