Album Review: Caustic Casanova – Glass Enclosed Nerve Center (Magnetic Eye Records)

Progressive punk weirdos, Caustic Casanova are back! With a brand-new record called ‘Glass Enclosed Nerve Center’. Out on October 7th, 2022 via Magnetic Eye Records.

Caustic Casanova certainly grabbed our attention back in 2019 when we reviewed their ‘God How I Envy the Deaf’ album. An album that befuddled and delighted in equal measure. An album that we thought was fantastic, even if we could understand that it might not be to everyone’s taste.

So, years later, have they calmed down and streamlined things? Have they fuck. Glass Enclosed Nerve Center is even more abrasive, even more progressive, even punkier and even groovier. It is a wild ride of eccentricity as only Caustic Casanova are capable of. An unforgettable blast of passionate fun that might need a notepad and pen nearby to keep track of the many different elements that make up the album.

It’s almost impossible to sum up. Not just the album but Caustic Casanova overall. There’s nothing predictable about this band and Glass Enclosed Nerve Center might be the most complete example of that. Yet, there’s no denying that all of this has an infectious quality to it. In fact, it’s downright viral.

Hilariously, the first half of the album features an array of tracks that are kept tight, energetic and ready for the radio (sort of). A handful of hits that deliver wacky and wonderful sounds. Ranging from punk-intensity to hard rock groove but filtered through Caustic Casanova wacky progressive style.

It’s with Shrouded Coconut that things really start to go off the rails but in a good way. If that can possibly make sense. It’s Caustic Casanova and here we get a track that takes a meandering route through progressive wilds. Vivid images and sounds, for over nine minutes, this band drop jaws and set the mind aflame.

Yet, once again, it almost pales in comparison to the insanity of Bull Moose Against the Sky. A twenty-two plus minute opus about the post-presidential life of Theodore Roosevelt. There’s a thin line between genius and madness, and Caustic Casanova are walking it here. In our opinion, it might be the cleverest piece of music heard this year. Although, once again, there’s not arguing with the polarising potential of this song and the album overall.

Though it seems impossible to believe that anyone who gives Glass Enclosed Nerve Center the time it deserves will come away disliking it. It’s just too damn addictive.

Caustic Casanova – Glass Enclosed Nerve Center Full Track Listing:

1. Anubis Rex
2. Lodestar
3. A Bailar Con Cuarentena
4. Shrouded Coconut
5. Bull Moose Against the Sky

Links

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