L A T E R M I N A L: LA Terminal EP

The exploits of Jose Maria Malaga Chuquitaype recently came to our attention via his Fiorella16 project, and in particular, the collaboration with fellow Peruvian sonic navigators, Asteroide (bassist Marco Rivarola and guitarist/ keyboardist David Rivarola).

While the Asteroide & Fiorella16 collaborative EP, Suni A Trav​é​s del Espejo, was more of thousand yard stare in the direction of psychedelia’s greater horrors, L A T E R M I N A L, the two-piece noise-rock affair where Chuquitaype is joined by drummer Jorge Alfonso Ramirez Gonzalez Del Riego, is something that’s far more direct.

Two-piece noise-rock is hard to fashion, but with their LA Terminal EP, the pair release something that buckles the walls with sweltering, white-hot noise. A tension that is almost implausible considering it’s just two people making it.

Three songs that clocking in at 11, with LA Terminal EP, the duo’s bite is actually bigger than their bark. Take the blistering opening cut, La Culpa. Sinister chaos that explodes from the speakers like shrapnel. Yes, this is a blast zone and L A T E R M I N A L have seemingly colonised it.

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Samsara follows in what is marrow-raw noise-rock that lifts the fur (again, that blast zone). Taking the tones of Heavens End-era Loop, here Chuquitaype and Del Riego throw it through a range of pedals and the results are hazardous.

Closing encounter, Irjua is like a thrumming echo from the depths of an apocalypse. If Motörhead and the Melvins ever came to blows than it may have sounded like the maelstrom L A T E R M I N A L deliver here.

In all its unmoored glory, the LA Terminal EP is a howling mess that will even have your worst nightmares running scared. While Peru has been a hotbed for underground music over the past couple of years, L A T E R M I N A L may just be the shining beacons of it. The most telling blow, and with this EP, it’s one of the best released this year.

LA Terminal EP is out now via We, Here & Now. Purchase from Bandcamp.