Florida Man Pack Chaotic Noise Rock Goodness Into Their Brand New LP

Florida Man’s new LP Tropical Depression quickly proves itself a harsh but groovy musical frolic through mayhem. It’s twisted, kind of deranged sounding at times — and straightforwardly enthralling. The band’s chaos is fascinatingly accessible, at least in the sense of them easily feeling at home among noise rock greats like Unsane, who they’ve been compared to. They utilize all different shades of noise on their newest record, ranging from some of the groove you might imagine correlates to their album title to some more direct, biting sonic mania. Notably, even vocalist Jim O’Connor’s contributions make a major contribution to the band’s pointed sound — he’s quite harsh in the vein of familiar punk and hardcore, bringing the music even further down into the excitedly swirling muck.

The end result of the band’s unique combination feels like a musical equivalent of a mind going up in flames, but that’s not all there is to the story. Signified by elements like that groove, the band take a kind of twisted control of the craziness their music encapsulates, allowing the music to be more of a fist-pumping, sonic mud-soaked triumph than one that’s just stuck in the originating chaos like a car whose wheels are spinning but not moving. The band rocket forward via their sound; their music feels powerful and the people behind it seem confident. There’s not much it seems like they wouldn’t do if the time is right — while not utilizing any apparent electronics, there’s even a major point towards the beginning of the album where they indulge in thick, heavy constructions reminiscent of industrial chugging with a clear metallic edge.

Although you’d be hard pressed to pin this band down as operating only according to a particular style, they don’t stop there. Florida Man take listeners into a sonic experience that feels like the personification of the craziness they’re surely conscious that people love to laugh at in headlines sporting their band name for entirely different reasons. They’re not just a gimmick though by any stretch of the imagination — instead, Florida Man reach out into nonsense and craft something musically exciting. You’re sure to get a thrill from listening to their new record, and on a meta-level, their song constructions are “stable” enough to ensure they’ll stick with you for awhile.

5/5 Stars

Tropical Depression will be available in full on May 3 via Spartan Records. In the meantime, listen to some below via Bandcamp.