Physique are back to start 2019 with their devastating sophomore release, The Evolution of Combat! 10 tracks of precisely executed Disbones Crasher Crust! Our take: Olympia’s Physique follow up their noteworthy debut on Iron Lung Records with a new LP. The banner at the top says “DISBONES CRASHER,” and as they say in the UK it does what it says on the tin. While a lot of American d-beat bands go for a more organic, vintage sound, Physique remind me more of Japanese bands like D-Clone or Ferocious X (not to mention Disclose) who have a colder, more modern, and processed sound. Texturally, The Evolution of Combat is closer to industrial music than the more organic-sounding recording quality of a band like Pollen. In other words, it feels like the point here isn’t to recreate Discharge and Anti-Cimex records as precisely as possible, but rather to continue to push those bands’ ideas forward. I’ll leave it to you to decide where they land on the originality scale, but I think two of the band’s strengths are the Bones-esque guitar solos and the distinctive drumming, which is peppered with wild and out of control-sounding fills. If you’re not tired of adding d-beat records to your collection The Evolution of Combat is a top-notch one.
