Nothing ever comes easy, especially if you’re a noisy punk band from Baltimore. Birth (Defects) recorded Deceiver/Mirror in 2017 and it almost didn’t see the light of day, but luckily, Reptilian Records have rescued it from obscurity and are releasing it on this week.

There were so many obstacles. One member nearly derailed the session the night before, apparently doubting the whole thing. They managed to record eight songs, but the band felt like something wasn’t right and sat on the tapes. Then, as underground bands tend to do, they imploded in 2019. It wasn’t until 2023 that they revisited the music. Relationships were mended, and they booked time at Electrical Audio with Steve Albini to finish what they’d started. But Albini passed away shortly before work was to begin. Luckily, Matthew Barnhart stepped in and helped to bring Deceiver/Mirror across the finish line. Listeners will agree it was worth the struggle.

Birth (Defects) present several complementary sonic identities throughout Deceiver/Mirror. After the short, abstract “Preamble,” “Youth” kicks things off properly. They seem to find the common ground between Black Flag and Jesus Lizard. It’s a type of aggression that appears regularly throughout the album. While this is probably unintentional, the heavy first half of “Trapped” almost brings to mind a garage rock take on Botch. Meanwhile, “Throne” returns to a more punk/noise rock template but is just as aggressive.

But there’s another side to Birth (Defects)’ sound. Imagine an alternate history where Nirvana got noisier and nastier after Bleach but retained their knack for shouted melodies. This is the sound of songs like “Guiltless,” “Doubts,” and “Under.” “Doubts” in particular channels the Seattle trio, with its simple yet hypnotic bass line and Nineties-style disaffected vocal. “Despotism” nods to Mudhoney, in particular “Need” from 1988’s Superfuzz Bigmuff. Despite these similarities, though, Birth (Defects) makes their sound their own, always heavier and skronkier than their inspirations.

There’s also a confident willingness to inject the unexpected into the songs at certain moments. “Glass” takes their grunge-punk hybrid sound back into noise rock territory by injecting a bit of Season To Risk into the song’s DNA. Meanwhile, “Macross” adds a little Bauhaus, another left turn to keep the listener hooked. The closing “Epilogue” even throws in some psychedelic, almost industrial noise to end things on an unsettling note.

With so much strife behind them, we can only hope that Birth (Defects) can bless the world with new music sooner rather than later. What didn’t kill them just might fuel them. They have concocted a startling blend of sounds for Deceiver/Mirror, and one can’t help but speculate as to the results their particular alchemy might manifest in the future.

— Todd Manning