Wednesday, September 26, 2018

Gouge Away : "Burnt Sugar"







These guys are a angular screamo band more than they are hard core. I like what they do even if some of the songs run together to due such a similar sound. The lead singer is a very pissed off young lady, who screams rather than sings. They are very aggressive, but have more of a jangle to their guitar sound. The bass player really goes after it on "Hey Mercy" . "Subtle Thrill" comes pretty close to hard core though its more punk. I think this is a little too straight forward for what they are best at until the middle of the song. She proves she can actually sing on "Ghost". She is no Taylor Swift, but holds enough melody to satisfy me. The song also strikes a good moody balance of emotions as well.


The bass driven "Dissociation" sounds like a spastic take on grunge. Not what is up with all the 90s influence creeping into everything this week. They throw themselves back into a more frantic screaming punk on "Can't Relate". The title track has more of a Sonic Youth feel to it. With dissonant melodies amid the clanging guitar. The chorus really stand out on this song when they veer off into it's more melodic expansion. It might be the best song on the album. Wilt"  finds the bass stepping again into the spot light as they continue to rage . This is denser and even closer to hard core than some of the album's earlier punk explosions.

They close the album with the more somber "Raw Blood". It kinda drones until the other guys in the band join in with a chant. I'll give this album an 8.5 , it's pretty solid. If you are more of a punk fan you can even round it up as the more straight ahead punk moments were the ones that did not connect as well with me. While there is a female vocalist, I don't think that is what defines them. Her gender is some what neutralized, until she goes into more of a singing voice. I would have loved her when I was a teenager.



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