Poughkeepsie – Macrocosmic Demise

Los Angeles based trio Poughkeepsie has dropped their first album in the form of "Macrocosmic Demise". This deathgrind release dropped in late October of 2018. Poughkeepsie consists of Huero (bass), Tony Chong (drums), and Panda (guitars; vocals). Poughkeepsie has formerly gone by the names Amniotic Scoria (2015-2016) and Yasnek (2016-2018).

For a first album, this isn’t bad, but it’s not groundbreaking. Running only ten-and-a-half minutes, this feels more like a demo tape than anything. It’s also pretty repetitive and generally uninspired. That said, I do have to praise 'Fukt' because I damn well love its rap intro that slams into hard, thrashing, brutal fucking guitars. 'Liver' Rot is also pretty good – it has a really solid instrumental base that showcases the band’s great potential.

Weirdly enough, this album (despite being shorter than my commute) improves DRASTICALLY as it goes on. 'I Am' and 'Passive Aggressive Disorder' are songs that wouldn’t make my playlist. 'Garbage Disposal' and 'Cult' make the cut, but they’re not songs you’ll spring for. But 'Liver Rot' and 'Fukt', those are top notch. If Poughkeepsie could pump out an album of songs that are as strong as 'Liver Rot' and 'Fukt', it would be on my all time Top 10 of any genre, no doubts.

Ultimately, I have to give this album a 2/5. The beginning is very uninspired, repetitive, and fails to showcase what the band can do. The middle is pretty cookie cutter (albeit not in a negative sense). The end though, the end of this album is almost enough for another point. If Poughkeepsie had showcased their talent and instrumentality through the whole album, this would be a 5/5 no questions asked. That said, I say give this album a full listen – it’s only ten minutes and the last third is brutal and amazing.

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1. I Am
2. Passive Aggressive Disorder
3. Garbage Disposal
4. Cult
5. Liver Rot
6. Fukt