Botched Toe is a lockdown-borne project featuring members of the sadly now disbanded Matilda’s Scoundrels, percussion from Marcus Green of Feral State, and all headed up by the very busy James Domestic.
Their debut offering A False Glimmer of Hope is a furious stomp of an album that rattles along at a rate of knots, propelled by well enunciated yet pointedly aggressive vocals and a fuck-ton of raging guitar riffs, all set atop a thundering rhythm section.
There’s an impressively full sound on display here for a self-produced effort and all done with what appears to be very little in the way of studio trickery or layering up. For just 18 minutes, they cover a surprising amount of ground in relation to rhythm, mood, subject matter and style.
There’s something deeply admirable and very much in keeping with the ideology of the DIY movement in the work ethic and productivity of Dan Flanagan and James Domestic, both in their numerous musical projects and their respective labels (Toxic Wotsit and Kibou). To see them coming together to work on this project, I hope, is the beginning of a formidable force in the UK DIY scene.
Undoubtedly Botched Toe is one to keep a close eye on, as the releases keep on coming thick and fast for 2022. I look forward to more releases and gigs from this outfit in a world where they can actually meet up to play together!
A False Glimmer of Hope is out now on Toxic Wotsit Records (UK), Kibou Records (UK), No Time Records (US), Pike Records (SWE) & Amok Records (GER). You can grab it on pink or black 12” vinyl.
Review by Tim Loud.
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