It's taken me quite a while to get around to giving this lot a proper listen. I've had a few tracks lurking about in the murky depths of my iPod for some time now, but only recently picked up the snappily titled Birds and Microscopes and Bottles of Elixirs and Raw Steak and a Bunch of Songs, a compilation of their first three records.Which is pretty fucking super, as it happens.
All the usual hardcore elements are present and correct; the chugging guitars, pummelling drums, harsh vocals and more than a few punishing beatdowns. But that's about as close as Norma Jean get to the tedious hardcore-by-numbers pedalled by so many other chest-beating drop-D thug charlatans with wicked sick myspace pages. They're unafraid of straying from traditional templates and formulae, allowing songs to unfurl and grow in an almost organic fashion. A few tracks even exceed the ten minute mark.
Okay, so they're still not what you'd call prog-hardcore titans (possibly because you wouldn't be so pretentious as to even think of calling anyone prog-hardcore titans), and Every Time I Die are still the undisputed kings of hardcore; but it's nice to hear someone doing something a bit different for a change.
Website: http://normajeannoise.com/
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/normajean
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