Gothtober- Natures Mortes : "Blind Submission"

 

This Polish band has certainly nailed the death rock sound, but what I am going to be listening for with this album is what they are doing to make it their own. The play it pretty straight with graveyard punk energy on the opening track. This band has been moving up closer to headliner status on festival bills they are on, but this is more of a statement about how desperate the goth scene is for actual bands.  The heavily effected guitar tone is dialed in with creepy legitimacy. The vocals, however, rant and muse with less purpose than, say, Rozz Williams. The causes the second song to carry a murkier haze. There is no clear path in the story being told on this song. But they sound cool getting lost. 

The production carried the bat cave reverberation. Sometimes this causes the riffs to drown in the wall of sound being summoned. The riff to "Bruises" has more form and function, as the vocal rant over it is in a more punk fashion. "Body Horror" rings out with a marginally dancier throb that finds the band being more cohesive, even though the vocals are buried against the guitar. At least the mood the vocals are trying to convey comes through. There is more of a punk pogo hop to "Inside Out" as their singer declares, "your life is a lie". 

There is a similar though more aggressive energy to " On All Fours" . It is a little too straightforward punk my tastes despite using a deathrock guitar tone, which casts the spooky shadows over the song.  The more Bauhaus-like riff to "Pulling Stings" gives the vocals space to emote more, though they hold a continuous tension to things whcih has been the overall mood of the album. "Drown" closes the album; the lo-fi production struggles to handle the wall of sound, as the shoegazing guitar tone overpowers the mix. It further buries the vocals, which might have been their singer's most compelling performance, but they are hidden away. I will give this album an 8, there is more sound than songwriting at times, , the production is to blame for most of the flaws here, and the vocals could be fine tuned, but are halway obscured by the guitar domiant mix, I think to truly nail the death rock the bass needs to be more present, but if you like the punk side of the genre it's a fun album. 

pst478