Chrome Cell Torture - Ibiza LP

A year or so after the release of ‘Dogging’ (Disinfect/R.I.P Society Records, 20214) I received an email about licensing the music of Low Life for a surf video, as this particular surfboard company had a gothic professional surfer on their payroll. I thought to myself, “Wow what an interesting cultural development, surf goths!” I informed the company I did not hold the publishing rights, directed them to the band, and cannot remember if Low Life’s music did in fact appear in a surf video. 

This anecdote came to mind when thinking about trying to write about ‘Ibiza’, the debut album from Chrome Cell Torture. This is because CCT are located somewhere on the picturesque Queensland/New South Wales coastal border and that this album has an allure that’s spiritually similar to ‘Dogging’. 

Don’t get me wrong, ‘Dogging’ has left a positive footprint on contemporary music, but the particular quality CCT possesses isn’t something I often hear: a highly intuitive but lizard brain knack for chaos filled pop songs. It’s hard to quantify, but reader, I think you will also feel it. While what’s great about ‘Ibiza’, goes beyond stylistic choices of equipment and production, their stylistic choices are indeed correct, a balance of paranoid post-punk sheen with unhinged hard rockin’. You can hear muscles working, innards filling with bile and a beautiful, tormented soul.

My enjoyment of ‘Ibiza’ has brought me much relief! I am relieved that I can still feel that same, highly affecting cathartic release from a mid-paced punk record. A continuation of the Sex Drive and Oily Boys legacy that exceeded my high hopes! I recommend this album to everyone, and more specifically anyone that’s ever enjoyed both Breakdown and The Sound. – Nic