Blodlet : "Death Mother"

 This band from Sweden plays a dark and ambitious brand of post-rock that still carries a heavy stomp. They cross over into other genres thanks to the vocals Hilda Heller, who joined the band in 2019. Her voice wanders over the expansive moody rock that wanders. This dynamic is not unlike what we have heard in collaborations like those between artists such as Emma Ruth Rundle & Thou, Julie Christmas and Cult of Luna or Chelsea Wolfe and Coverage. The female voice providing the atmosphere to create a dynamic contrast to the heavier instrumentation. Of course many of these have been influenced by a similar sonic tapestry created by Jarboe and Swans. 

While comparisons to the Swans could be made, this band is not as dark ,  despite finding the happy spot for me where they make music that is sonically heavy without being metal. I would say the second song "the Hour" has more in common with Brutus than Swans. There is a hypnotic spaciousness at times contrasted by and almost shoe gaze like drone. Her melodies are more speculative than anything. It does swell into an impressive heavier dynamic that carries an almost doom like tone.  "Lead Me Home" finds the vocals with more room to spread out and speculate. This creates a mildly darker tone. There are some great guitar tones captured on this album. The mix is pretty immaculate as well, as the producer understood the importance of setting the stage for the sounds to soar.  

Post-rock does tend to sprawl, but not sure if warrants such enough for a fifteen minute song. The lingering intro to "Without Within" could have been constructed in a minute and a half rather than over three minutes, and got the same message across. There is a great deal of droning on that captures a mood that could have been conveyed in half the time. The vocals are just another instrument to create texture here, even when things build to their most impressive point that is a long time coming. I am sure this would work well live, but in the studio they could have allowed the song to get to the point. With that said I appreciate the tempest they are able to conjuror , just wish it had been more efficient. 

Things move is a more concise direction for "93-22" which closes the album with it's tense reverb driven jangle. I like the energy they invest in it, I just think the vocals are what makes them stand out as a band and wished they have worked those in as it would have made for a more interesting song. I will give this album a 9, it is a powerful take on shoe-gazing post-rock that puts rocking pretty high on the list of their priorities.