Oldspeak : 's/t"

Sludge fans should find themselves pretty content when this album roars to life. It takes you back to the early 2000s when bands like Isis were the newest most exciting force in metal. The hype around sludge has ebbed to the point bands are not self-identifying as that much these days. No matter what this band from Ohio tells you, they are not post-doom or doom gaze they are sludge. They should be proud as they are doing a fine job of it and bring a convincing level of atmosphere to these songs, that keeps them from sounding like the raw pound of cavemen. 

There is almost a Neurosis like level of sonic experimentation with "Drawing a  Circle " being more of an ambient interlude. On "Black Static and the Great Redeemer" the vocals carry a fine level of anguish to their howls as the band continues a dreary pound. 'Precession" is more of a straightforward pounding that just finds the mushrooms kicking in sooner than expected. The weird continues to sprawl out its web of dreamy dusk. 'Ladder of Self Destruction" is a thoughtful climb, with depressive motivation. Mdway in things catch with their trademark pummeling which proves effective. 

If my LSD trips were a song they would be the last track of this album. It's a swirl of chaotic ambiance. There are the howls of vocals, and think they did use instruments to create this, but I am not counting it as a song for the purpose of this review, due to its lack of any musical coherence. It's not a negative thing, it's just how it is. I think this is a wonderful album, it takes me back to the days when sludge bands were more depressed and doing more drugs, to make something beautiful from the ugliness of it all I will give this album a 9.5 

pst83

Close the Hatch : "Modern Witchcraft"

Shoe gazing sludge is going to be something I am on board for. The vocals are not the typical lumber jack grunts. The are dreamy murmurs that are the most atmospheric part of what is going on with the first song. If the Melvins got smacked out and decided to record while taking sleeping pills the results might be similar. They pack a punch even with the sluggish slumber creeping up on these riffs. The vocals have marginally more grit on a song like the title track where the narrative gets more serious. They are not a droning or hypnotic as say Jesu, but not far removed from their sonic zip code. Very syncopated in their rumble. This is one of the more interesting sludge album I have heard this year.  This is not dark or depressive like doom. It is introspective, where doom is mournful this is apathetic.

They are not afraid to get weird, but still stay focused on the songs. Often angular, they slide through surreal walls of feed back, yet the songs have a spacious feel to them. The vocals continue to have a slacker vibe to them. Going into lower moans at times. In places their is a sleazy Marilyn Manson like swagger to them. "Cordial Medusa" is more listless. It wanders into gray places and forgets. There sound however is so unique that it compensates when they get lost behind their own smoke and mirrors. "Thorazine Empire" shows how to do the 90s spawned loud to soft dynamic. They key is when you are not doing it all the time. So it works great here. These guys are not sticking to formulas. When they pull more conventional tricks out of the bag they work like they are new. The surreal sluggishness digs in deeper to the sonic coma of "Persona Non Grata" .  The way the shoe gazing feel ,creeps in is impressive because it is more of a feel thing than them trying to be My Bloody Valentine.

The last song works off the vibe they established in the previous song and gives it more movement. The guitar tones on this album are stellar. It took me a little while to get used to the murky mix but it makes sense. There is no growling , but they do talk in low creepy voices to get the mood more ominous. But when I lose track of where I am at in the song it is easy for the press stream to get going and then I realize I am back at the first song. So yes there is a uniform feel to their sound, but I also can just leave this album on and let it play. I will give this album a 9 and see how it grows on me.

Spotlights : " We are All Atomic"

The New York shoe gazers are back with their shadowy take on the genre. There is solid blend of shadowy mood that creeps up through the atmosphere on the opening song. I like how percussive the bass is and mixed into the drums. The vocals are the typically hushed drug lullaby that is typical for the genre. There guitar tones are all masterfully recorded . It sounds pretty fucking gorgeous. I know the headphones I have on lean towards a more bass driven mix, so this is going to be an album you need head phone for rather than trusting your computer speakers. The crunch down and get heavier with the more sludge influence sound that colored the previous album. This is also complimented by a more shouted vocal. That is not to say they are done with more melodic and subdued vocal. It's a great balance of dynamics.

For the records none of the songs have titles , they are only listed as parts. You might as well see this album as one work, almost like a symphony as it is a movement. This can be frustrating if you want them to come with the songs like they did on "Love & Decay" They have a fresh new sound, but recycle it some on the second song which sounds almost like a continuation of the first song. It still sounds great , but is a little redundant from a song writing perspective. The third part is under five minutes and works of tension. It sounds good , not unlike the rest of the album , but the first half of the song still finds you hanging on what is little more than a jammed out intro . In the last minute a more upbeat riff comes in to give it some drive, but it's all build no pay off until the next song.

Maybe this is intentional . If that is the case it's kinda pretentious as that is not how rock music should be ingested . They build off of the third song in the last song of the album. It's almost kind of Tool like in how the groove is to coiled and allowed to the explode. I can hear some Failure in this as well. It is a good thing this song really pays off what they were building so it kinda hard to get mad at them for getting proggy with this concept. There is a dynamic ebb and flow to this song ,which is allow to expand retract. I do not like this as much as " Love & Decay" , but it sounds great as for the most part is really well done, despite the issue I previously state which will not keep me from giving this album a 9.