Review of "World Class" by Caltrop

Believe it or not, reviewing a CD that's amazing is actually more difficult than reviewing one that sucks. There are only so many ways to say that it's awesome, that it rocks, that you should go out and buy it and/or see the band when they next play live. That's kind of the dilemma with Caltrop's second CD, "World Class" (Holidays for Quince). It's so damn good that I'm having a difficult time coming up with anything insightful to say about it. I even had a difficult time deciding which song to include here. Finally I went with "Junn Horde," even though I don't think it's actually the most cohesive song on the CD ("The Phlogston Command" gets that honor), and even though it's not necessarily guitarist Adam Nolton's best playing (the freakout solos in the middle of "Bloodroot" are more mind-blowing). But "Junn Horde," with its plodding, angry bass and marching drumbeat is most distinctive in its menacing stomp. A bonus for fans of the first CD: They've re-recorded and tightened up "Slice-o-Lator."