 |
| Horns up. |
You know the drill by now, so let’s get to it.
New Horizons
Dalek – PrecipiceFor their first studio album since 2017, dalek maintain their unique sound (conscious hip hop over a shoegaze style backdrop) because no one can replicate what they do. ‘Lest We Forget’ is a dreamy, sky surfing instrumental, then the one-two punch of ‘Boycott’ and ‘Decimation (Dis Nation)’ cut through the landscapes in favour of some hard beats and woozy, weary MC’ing, as if dalek are fed up with people only now realising how right they’ve been over all these years. ‘Devotion (When I Cry the Wind Disappears)’ is such a beautiful track in its overpowering apocalyptic feel.
The album can be streamed and purchased here.
Ufomammut – Fenice
On the go for over 20 years, Ufomammut remain a perpetual fixture in the underground. ‘Fenice’ (“phoenix” in Italian), according to the band, “…symbolically represents endless rebirth and the ability to start again after everything seems doomed.” That theme certainly runs through the LP, with opener ‘Duat’ acting as a slow burning number signifying the birth of a new species, with the cavernous riffing Ufomammut are associated with doesn’t appear until the halfway mark. While it may disappoint those looking for riffs, those looking for trippy material will be very pleased.
The album can be streamed and purchased here.
End Now – Half Live
Described by their label as “Geordie post hardcore heavily influenced by the Dischord and Touch & Go back catalogues. Also present is a love of the heavier, melodic elements in Torche, Harvey Milk..”, this comp from the long defunct band reveals a band who, if they had recorded an album, should have been playing bills with Thirty-Six Strategies and Bilge Pump. Keeping the angular weirdness of the latter while mining the melodicism of the former, this release is a tantalising “what if” to connoisseurs of UK hardcore/post-punk.
The album can be streamed and purchased here.
Whirling Hall of Knives – Blown Vestige
Not content with releasing a split with Gnod last month, Dublin’s WHOK have also put out their 15th studio record. Their label describes the music as “…eruptions of panicky white noise…profoundly unsettling quality, a sense of gnawing paranoia but interspersed with moments of almost euphoric epiphany, as if in the grip of an unshakeable 4am psychosis...” and that’s a reasonably accurate description! There’s also a lot of pretty, albeit sinister sounding, moments as well with the likes of ‘All Eyes Down’ and ‘Silverbird Range’.
The album can be streamed and purchased here.
Tyrannus – Unslayable
Describing themselves as “…warped, conceptual, Lovecraftian, horrific, antifascist black death metal”, this Scottish four piece have put out a formidable slice of metal that seemingly takes in influences from the usual sources as well as crust punk, post-metal, thrash and ambient music to create a tour-de-force. The title track is a magnificent, galloping statement of intent while ‘Light the Last Sun’ begins as an orthodox black metal number before adding an Amebix style epic crust second half that feels utterly exhilarating.
The album can be streamed and purchased here.
Huerco S. – Plonk
For his first album in six years, Huerco. S has delivered a record of paranoid, immediate and trippy IDM tunes. The skittery beats always seem to suggest someone having a nervous breakdown while the melodies sit somewhere between nostalgic club euphoria and the feeling of dread experienced when walking home from the club and thinking someone is following you (‘Plonk VI is a stellar example), while the closing number adds a more morose, melancholic vibe to capture the feeling of the morning after, praying for death but hoping for better times.
The album can be streamed and purchased here.
Golden Oldie
Nothing – Guilty of EverythingDespite competing in a crowded field, the 2014 debut from the Philly nu-gazers stands up remarkably well after all these years. A lot of this is down to the production (which manages to capture the more ethereal side of the band without losing the intensity of the riffing or the drums) and the songwriting (which takes influence from 90’s alt rock as well as classic shoegaze acts), but main man Domenic Palermo’s vocals are the secret weapon, lulling the listener into a serene state which takes them to another place entirely.
Primal Rite – Dirge of Escapism
Made by people influenced by identity politics, being neither truly hardcore or truly thrash but destroying all around them, Primal Rite straddle the line between hardcore and thrash, absorbing the energies of both without ever feeling the need to declare themselves one or the other. The production does a sterling job of not only capturing the strengths of the band, but also exaggerating them into something much mightier and meatier. The gang vocals have the echo effect on them, making it sound like they’re chanting at the bottom of an alleyway.
Vitamin X – Age of Paranoia
Amsterdam’s finest have never been ones to adhere to the archetypical crust punk sound, happily incorporating big rock riffs and Stooges style guitar solos. They really need to be seen to be properly appreciated. But their records are still something to behold, and this should win over some new fans. Running at under 25 minutes, the 16 track ‘Age of Paranoia’ is a short, sharp kick in the balls that’s needed in times like this. Nothing fancy, not reinventing anything. Just life affirming hardcore that gives you that extra stir to do that extra shift in the office for more flexitime no problem.
Noisepicker – Peace Off
The English two-piece have riffs that are the aural equivalent of swimming in molasses (in the best possible sense). ‘No Man Lies Blameless’ starts off with a succession of power chords being hit in the vein of Swans. It builds to a mini crescendo, then becomes a mutated bluesy doom song (almost like Pepper era C.O.C doing a Melvins pastiche, certainly in the vocal department). ‘Burning the Witch’ has a great Unsane sounding riff and combined with those deranged hillbilly type vocals, the no-nonsense, flat-out riffing make it the best song on the album.
Rats Blood – Lowlife
The difference between Dublin and Belfast, punk and hardcore wise, is staggering. Dublin can routinely give us acts like Fag Enablerz, Loose Nut and Livefastdie. It’s just not fair. Opener ‘Lost Decade’ begins with a moody midtempo riff, which prepares us for the upcoming onslaught. The clarity of the production is a little unusual (the demo tape was pure scuzzy filth), but it doesn’t detract from the mayhem. Stunning riff and killer drumming. ‘Dog Days’ just goes straight for the jugular, with only the little touch of feedback before the lead break as respite.
Converge – The Dusk in Us
I was a real latecomer to the band (not picking up on them until 2009’s ‘Axe to Fall’), but even then, it was easy to see the number of bands who cited the intensity (both musical and emotional) of ‘Jane Doe’ as an inspiration for their own work. And that is a tradition upheld nobly on ‘The Dusk in Us.’ Standout song ‘Eye of the Quarrel’ has an abrasive chorus and poetic and self-loathing / self-aware lyrics: “I’m my own man built by my own hands / Despite all the flaws which remind me of you.” Converge get better and better with each release, long may it continue.
⏩ Christopher Owens was a reviewer for Metal Ireland and finds time to study the history and inherent contradictions of Ireland. He is currently the TPQ Friday columnist.
An amazing knowledge of the music scene that allows you to produce this on such a steady basis. I am still waiting for a band I know!!!
ReplyDeleteI'll try for the next one!
Delete