Can we all breathe just a little bit now? Seriously. Some of this stuff has been sitting around for a minute and if it wasn't super apparent I've kind of had my hands full with label stuff lately so sorry not to be impeccably consistent with the reviews. But here we are and here you go. So late fall entries for your attention.
ANXIETY SPIRAL demo
Boy, talk about an apt band name for 2020. If hardcore punk attempts to be
underground and outside mainstream comprehension then these cats failed
miserably at a moniker that only a select few can relate to. On-the-nose name aside, this is what
happens when a couple Fight Amp dudes start yet another band with the intention
of taking attitudes from their regular crop of noise-drenched scum rock outfits
and apply it to cranking out a hardcore tape in the space of probably a couple
drunken afternoons spent together.
There’s nothing wrong with writing some fast-as-fuck jams on the fly and
still sounding rad because you’ve been grinding it out for decades in other
groups. Four songs, a little over
eight minutes, what else do you need to know? Go fast, get fucked up. (Knife Hits)
BENT LIMBS, “Soft Mind”
This is a really slow burn. Half of Blood Sun Circle has re-convened to create a body of
songs that take all those slow and eerie parts they developed on their two
crushing full lengths and expanded on those sorts of ideas for a full
length. I’m not going to lie, this
takes awhile to get through. It’s
not full of big giant riffs, or easily digestible dirges of sound. It moves slow. Sure, there are some earworms to be
found, and a few songs that fit into a somewhat compact format. But the entire middle section of this
record quietly, and deliberately, moves from song to song, sometimes with nary
a hint that one track is ending and another is beginning. It demands repeated listens as it takes
one morose turn after another. Not
all of it excites me, or makes me want to investigate further, but I’d say at
least half of it is quite enjoyable as it exercises great restraint and
tension. From a personal
standpoint, I’m so accustomed to these guys coming at listeners with ungodly
volume and wild energy in all their previous musical endeavors that this takes
some getting used to since they’re still displaying a kind of intensity. But it’s one that presents itself in unsettling
quiet, long build-ups, and tension so thick you need a machete to cut through
it all. For fans of grey
ever-present skies, or that scene in “The Neverending Story” where the horse
drowns. Seriously harsh in an
epically somber sort of way.
(Drops Of Us)
BUMMER/ THE BODY split 7”
Bummer drop a new song that continues their war against
smartypants rock and just slams you with monster riffs that resemble
Gravedigger steamrolling over a line of junkyard hearses. By far one of the most satisfyingly
loud bands I’ve seen one just needs imagine this song coming at you at 130 dbs
and you get an idea of the awesome power of Bummer.
The Body, on the other hand, are one of the most
unsatisfyingly loud bands I’ve ever seen and that was when they still just used
a guitar and drums, before they went all harsh noise, or whatever they do. I haven’t had the interest in exploring
them since, no matter how many Pitchfork writers prematurely bust a nut at the
utterance of their name, and this is really no different. I just don’t get it, man. Or, rather, I just have no
interest. (Thrill Jockey)
CHIMES OF BAYONETS, “Archiver” 7”
This Ithaca, NY-based trio is comprised of members who have
been playing together in various other outfits for a very long time. If I’m not mistaken, there’s a little
bit of musical chairs happening between this and other groups they have been a
part of. Whatever the case, the
chief complaint I find myself levying is that this group sounds rather
unrehearsed, or not quite studio-ready.
It makes the songs sound somewhat clunky and unfinished. I’m not certain if they are going for
this style, but what I do hear is something sort of Dischord-adjacent, like any
number of those .5 releases they would do as collaborations with another label? Or if anyone remotely remembers the
stuff on the Divot Records label- that sort of mid-to-late 90’s Chicago brand
of indie-emo? That’s what Chimes
Of Bayonets sounds like to me. Is
it what they’re going for? I’m not
certain. But you get three songs
on this 7” of the aforementioned sound, backed occasionally by a bit of
saxophone and the occasional sample. (Habit Forming Records)
KRAUSE 7”
Where you been all my life Greek noise rock? Besides Greece, that is? Here’s a two-song jobber of ugly riffs,
noisy sludge where you know the guitarist is banging his fist on his amp every
couple of songs because the tubes are shorting out, and the singer’s already
smashed three beer bottles on the stage before they hit their first note, and
they probably spent just as much on their gear collectively as a band as they
did on an undoubtedly obsessive Unsane collection. These two ugly ragers hit the spot in some
Eyehategod-Grizzlor mash-up, complete with wacky cover art emphasizing the
strange and grotesque, just like their music. Vocals blurted out through a busted Radio Shack mic across
the two tracks, the first being a bit more on the repetitive end that takes the
lead riff and beats you to death with it.
The second song sounds a little more slick and is just a bit more
upbeat, letting the bass lead before guitar skronk and feedback socks you
across the face like a madball.
(Inner Ear Records)
MAN AT ARMS, “Good Thinking”
For a two-piece this apparently long-running Michigan duo
are all over the map. At times
they deal in a sort of lo-fi Shellac kind of aesthetic, but with purposeful
melody in the vocals. Other times
they tool around with some sludge (which only sort of works with the lo-fi
leanings) that reminds me of another (rather unknown) duo- Liquid Limbs, but
with less bombast. And in other
sections of this collection they sort of meander off and do a kind of
free-association thing, or maybe Minutemen with less herky-jerky
weirdness. This is the first
release for the band since 2008 so I’m not sure if they just work really slow,
but I feel like with a better recording some of these songs could have more
life. As it stands they sound a
bit on the weak side. I know it’s
just drums and guitar, so there’s always that potential for sounding a little
thin (and perhaps that’s on purpose), but to me it feels like there’s a desire to
sound a little bigger and it’s just not happening. (self-released)
METZ, “Atlas Vending”
Metz is instant gratification to me. It doesn’t matter what they do, I know
I’m going to like it instantly.
They’re a sure bet. So I
was fine with the scuttlebutt that this record was making some attempts at a rather
altered track for them, which is to say, some more melody in both the riffs and
the vocals. Honestly, there’s not
much different than any Metz fan won’t thoroughly enjoy. But if they want to convince us their
new record is more melodic then, sure, we’ll go with that. I will say, though, this is the best sounding
record they have released to date, so kudos on the studio expertise.
Things start out with a strange, nervous tick; a thumping,
piercing jab that explodes into chaos via “Pulse”. From there things move more into familiar Metz territory
with fast and punk-y tracks like “Blind Youth Industrial Park”, “The Mirror”,
and quite possibly my favorite minute-and-a-half song this year- the ultra
catchy, melodic, and furiously quick “No Ceiling”. On the b-side things start off with the post-hardcore-ish
dirge “Draw Us In”, followed by another quick and dirty. Things take a more meandering and
contemplative aside with “Framed By a Comet’s Tail” and then close out with the
fantastically epic and gloriously long-winded “A Boat To Drown In”. Metz always find a way to make the
strange and chaotically noisy sound downright fun and exciting and I will
continuously love them for that.
(Sub Pop)
NOTHING, “The Great Dismal”
I haven’t really been all that excited about Nothing since
their first full length. I find something sort of off-putting about them and
maybe it has more to do with their ‘couldn’t give a fuck’ online demeanor more
than their actual music, so that’s on me for being pretty shallow in that
regard. It’s petty, I know. So
let’s get to the actual music.
Nothing has seemed to move further into more pop and mainstream sounds
over the last couple records by expanding on their 90’s shoegaze bliss, cleaner
sounds, bigger production, and so forth.
And while their outright love for My Bloody Valentine is frequently on
display there remains some moments where they do tread into sonically uglier,
and stranger, territory that I find more interesting. At this point in my life I believe I’ve probably heard
enough airy, almost whispered, vocals to last me the remainder of my years so
I’ll disregard those and move into the second half of the album, which I find
far more engaging. There’s really
nothing new to be found, I just enjoy the energy on the last four songs on the
record, which go from big, bendy walls of sound dreamy parts (“Blue Mecca”) to
riff-oriented chunky Hum worship (“Just a Story”) and an interesting
effects-drenched back-and-forth between melodic noodling and sonic black hole
trench-diving in “Ask the Rust” that closes out the record. One of the videos they made for this
record made me think I was watching a re-run of Metallica’s “Unforgiven” and I
just had to exit out of that nonsense right quick. Otherwise, if you’ve been a fan of Nothing in the past you’ll
more than likely enjoy this record as well. (Relapse)
THOU/EMMA RUTH RUNDLE, “May Our Chambers Be Full”
By all accounts, the tectonic plate-shifting chug of Thou
collaborating with the sweeping, lush atmosphere of Emma Ruth Rundle should
equal something like Isis or Neurosis at their finest. But thankfully (because it’s already
been done by the aforementioned), you get something altogether different. I mean, if you’re familiar with both
groups this really does sound exactly as you might imagine, and it’s the best
possible outcome of that combined sound possible. It’s not as if they decided to throw everyone a curveball
and make an electronica record or some shit. This is big, slow, heavy songs that float with lush,
melancholy melodies. Rundle handles
the majority of the vocals (as she should) and her contemplative, calming voice
is a perfect match to the underlying heft of the doom-y sludge going on. Thou vocalist Bryan Funck lends his
shredding scream throughout, but it often gets pushed a bit farther back in the
mix in order to let Rundle take the lead.
And, if I’m not mistaken, I believe current Thou guitarist Kara Stafford
also lends her vocals here and there.
Out of the seven tracks present some lean in the more aggressive side
(“Out Of Existence”), while others take a longer, calmer tone (most of “The
Valley”), but I think it’s lead-off single “Ancestral Recall” that finds the
perfect mix of both artists flexing at their best and is the high point of the
record for me. All this being
said, is the combination of these groups the best doom-grunge one can find? A Soundgarden at their sludgiest? It’s not for me to say, but I will say
this is an awesome pairing that works together like peanut butter and
chocolate. (Sacred Bones)
