With one of the greatest names for a band (why did no one think of using it before?), Alger Hiss is loud, brutal and nasty, thereby exemplifying all the elements bandleader (and music journalist) Jordan Mamone was attempting to strive towards when he formed the group in 1995. Along with Hajji Mayer on drums and Chris O’Rourke on bass, vocals and guitar, Mamone recorded Alger Hiss, a collection of songs which came to form the partial makeup for the two later releases.
Settings for Nudes begins with the fast-paced “Rustbelt,” which breaks only to allow an early-Swans-like exchange between tom drums, pounding guitar and roaring voice. Mamone’s vocals are razor-sharp snide under his treble guitar blasts, while O’Rourke’s voice (on “Tuesday” and “Gallo”) has more of a melodic ominousness. Settings ultimately settles in between math rock trajectories, metal crossover preciseness and no-wave skittishness without finding comfort in any singular camp.
O’Rourke left around the time of Graft vs. Host, and Jon Fine (Bitch Magnet, Vineland) joined. The album combines recordings with both bassists, yet still manages to come off with an unbroken wholeness. On “Gristmill,” the lyrics are hissed over shifting musical phrases that never allow the anger to subside. “Oxidants, Poisons, Corrosives” has Mamone running furiously around the fretboard in an exciting display of inspiration and provocation. Alger Hiss never pauses to stagnate and thereby draws new, restless life with each measure.
Mamone also performed in Rummy, which existed solely as a recording project for a short time. Mamone and his musical partner create sheets of noise, never letting things get too white to avoid a stressful intensity.