And We Washed Our Weapons in the Sea

In a sadly ironic twist, Frodus' final record is also easily their most stunning accomplishment. The Washington D.C.-based trio, whose early chaotic recordings spawned the term "spazzcore," have upped the musical and topical ante for their final album, and the result is a complex record that takes major steps forward and still never lets up on the frantic energy that helped make a name for them. "Red Bull of Juarez" and "The Awesome Machine" find the band still leading the way with jerky instrumentation and vocalist Shelby Cinca's explosive screams, but And We Washed Our Weapons in the Sea takes off in a number of other directions as well, and while unexpected, the ideas prove to be well backed up. Tracks like "The Earth Isn't Humming" and the deeply personal "6/99" (a reference to the passing of two individuals very close to the band) feature amazingly clear vocals and subdued but still evocative music. Instrumentals like the slowly creeping "Belgian Congo" or the experimental programming piece "Hull Crush Depth" prove that the can pull off a number of styles in an equally convincing manner. Powerfully affecting and surprisingly groundbreaking for such a pigeonholed act, And We Washed Our Weapons in the Sea is a perfect example of solid record that is unaffected by the constraints of any ridiculously implied genres. From the onset, Frodus attack their listeners, and, when all is said and done, there's no arguing that their final march to the sea is a true moment of triumph.