Review by Greg on August 2, 2023.

An anomalous entity from Austin, Texas, Expander are a crossover thrash band defying every cliché that have surely insta-spawned in your head after having read those two words for the 227th time in my reviews. Building upon what their debut Endless Computer delivered, 2020 sophomore Neuropunk Boostergang promises another dose of dystopian pummeling, right after its rather bright, but still unsettling, artwork.

What we have here is basically crossover of the most stripped-down variety, thus leaning heavily on the punk side of things, coupled with a heavily oppressive, lo-fi atmosphere that might betray a possible Toxic Holocaust influence (the album's sound is courtesy of a joint venture between Joel Grind and Converge's Kurt Ballou, curiously enough). Also, the mandatory Voivod comparisons I've read around might not be limited to the space theme, for once, as Expander's overall sound might be traced back to the primitive, crusty sound of their early recordings, and there seems to be a certain dose of dissonant playing as well, which I lack the ear to judge, although I suspect it might have something to do with the creative tremolo parts (including the Misirlou-inspired[?] sequence of 'Waste Ranger').

Rising above this sludgy, down-tuned chaos and occasional electronic effects is a dual vocal attack (although only one vocalist seems to be credited) likewise drenched in reverb, and while the desperate shrieks are more than adequate, the hardcore-ish yells are a bit samey and unintelligible. Okay, I suspect that stanzas such as: 'The bipedal smasher 2000C / Flex quasi-brain master capacity / Binocular vision distorted / Biologic tension evaporates' don't exactly do their best to help in this regard – the lyrics might be more credible as an actual sci-fi novel edited to fit in the metrics of the album.

In any case, after having painted such an enthralling picture, I'm afraid Neuropunk Boostergang is off to a rather underwhelming start, with 'Wretched Warez' and 'Megacorp' sounding like a single, monolithic midtempo song, however heavy the result ends up being (incredibly so, I'd say). I guess the band was aiming for a very slow-burning buildup, judging from the punky 'Hyper-Flesh Aedificium' and finally from the full-on thrasher 'Waste Ranger' that follow. We're at the most intense part of the album indeed, the latter being one first highlight alongside the subsequent 'Cryptosteal' and the title-track to be found later. Both are characterized by electronic intros that wouldn't sound out of place on a Celldweller album, but the former gladly follows the path of the merciless jackhammering of your eardrums, while the latter is a slower, but no less menacing, monster of a track, recalling a Power Trip midtempo song... if seen through the eyes of an asylum patient.

If Expander's mission was to provide a bleak, nihilistic experience to the listener, I have no qualms when announcing that they've totally nailed it, especially after that rather cacophonous outburst of the desperate (but overlong) closer 'Quest For A Future'. Neuropunk Boostergang is not an easy album, one that you can listen while doing other stuff in the meantime, or even in your car. It's a tremendously interesting work at its peak moments, but a weighty one when taken all at once, especially since some of the songs weren't really distinguishable from one another, nor terribly memorable. Still, the band's concept is so cool that I'm curious to see what they'll release in the future...

I really, really do love their artworks, though. But they ain't getting points for that... maybe.

Rating: 7.4 out of 10