If you’re looking for a night of loud, unhinged punk, then the Lamplighter is the place to be on Thursday, December 20th, when two Ohio acts bring the noise to the Midtown haunt. The Unholy Two, a misnamed trio consisting of Chris Lutzko, Adam Smith (on “power electronics”), and drummer Bo Davis, had been busting up buckeye bars in Columbus for three years before the release of their 2011 album $kum of the Earth. The mix of jackhammer drums, blinding-white noise guitar, synth assault, and Lutzko’s completely psycho vocalizations harks back to Amphetamine Reptile ’90s bands like the Jesus Lizard, Steel Pole Bathtub, and Killdozer.
Touring with the Unholy Two is the more melodic Obnox, aka Lamont “Bim” Thomas, a Cleveland lo-fi noisemaker who has played with bands such as the Bassholes and Puffy Areolas. Working with only guitar and drums, Thomas wraps his Oblivians/Bob Log III-style bluesy punk in swaths of swirling flange and assaultive feedback. On his self-recorded 2011 record I’m Bleeding, the psych noise hides some truly skillful songwriting on tracks such as “The Get It Inn” and “The Cowboy and Cowgirl.” But for this kind of noise rock, picking the gems out of the sludge is all part of the fun.
