What is in a name? For this band, you could come to the conclusion that they are gay atheists or people who believe in the divinity of homosexuality. However you choose to look at them, they make one crazy racket that splits the difference between Torche’s loud and fast thunder-pop and Big Business’s low-end, off-kilter rumble. After a couple of records on their own Corflax label, this Portland, Oregon band makes their Good To Die debut as the label’s first non-Seattle signing. (Rabbits, whose new record has just been released, is the next Portland signing for the label.)

This is some weird, wild, and sludgy stuff. All the songs are kept short and to the point, which keeps their excitement level high. But throughout it, they keep the amps cranked and the noise coming. Lead singer and guitarist (and the only confirmed gay atheist in the band) has a slightly high-pitched bleat that is a little disorientating and fits the gut punch found in the music. In fact, there is something quintessentially Pacific Northwest in the band’s left-of-center take on punk, sludge, and noise rock, as this a place that gave birth to other similar loud rock acts such as Karp, the Melvins, and the aforementioned Big Business. Consider this band another in a long line of fine weirdo rock from the land of Microsoft and Sub Pop.

(Good To Die Records, PO Box 70251, Seattle, WA 98127)