Mr. Sterile Assembly’s Bug My Ride review by John M. Ellison IV

Mr. Sterile Assembly’s Bug My Ride review by John M. Ellison IV

I’ve recently got an album by New Zealand music collective Mr. Sterile Assembly. To me, Mr. Sterile Assembly is a punk band with training in jazz, but they play aggressive progressive rock.

To describe Mr. Sterile Assembly’s sound, imagine…

· Mr. Bungle with a New Zealand Accent,

· Korn doing Free Jazz,

· Slipknot during their Mate, Feed Kill, Repeat era,

· Primus with Stanley Clarke on Bass as well as Les Claypool.

· The Mothers of Invention’s indie rock grandkids

· The Anti-White Stripes

According to their Myspace page, Mr. Sterile Assembly is a power trio that consists of…

mr sterile [drums, vocals]

Chrissie Butler [bass, vocals]

Sarsha Douglas [2nd bass, vocals]

But included at one time the talents of…

Jeff Henderson, Dan Beban, Aaron Lloydd, Cara Conroy-Low, Dave Michael, Francesca Mountfort, Miles Climo, Jana Whitta, Elisa Kersley, Chris O’Conner, Vlada Plackic

I commend mr sterile for his agile drumming which would make most drummers and listener’s wrists cramp by listening. The bass playing of Chrissie Butler and Sarsha Douglas is astounding and puts bass playing into another perspective. This entire album takes me back to when I was younger, and when I heard about the music style we know as “Jungle/Drum and Bass.” Before hearing the actual genre, this is what I imagined “Drum and Bass” would sound like. So, I’ve been looking for an album like “Bug My Ride” for awhile.

The album listing consists of

Agents of the Sun

Babylon Express

Bug My Ride

Buru

Good as Goldie

Hector Larsen

Ice Cremate

Static

The tracks that caught my ear would have to be…

Agents of the Sun
For people that aren’t fans of proto-punk freak out noise, skip the first minute or two of Agents of the Sun. After the first couple of minutes, it comes together well. This song connects with final track on the album “Static”.

Bug My Ride
The title track “Bug my Ride” is a jazzy “drum and bass” chase scene composition with treated vocals.

Hector Larsen
What can I say? I’m a sucker for odd and changing time signatures.

Bottom line, I would recommend “Bug My Ride” for two kinds of people; rockers who are looking for something more complex but as intense as the usual hardcore punk fare and bassists and drummers looking for an album that puts their respected instruments in the forefront. For those who aren’t used to jazz, avant-garde or anything experimental, this might take a few listens to get used to. If you’re a punk or rocker looking to expand your horizons Mr. Sterile Assembly’s “Bug My Ride” is a good start.