Full of Hell & Nothing : "When No Birds Sing"

 

The first song in this collaborative effort between Full of Hell and Nothing, finds Full of Hell the overpowering force, that leans the song in their favor. Screamed vocals gnash their teeth as the jagged riffs slice at your ears. In the last couple of minutes the song drones off into samples., strummed guitar and kind of ambient experimentation you could see Nothing getting into. "Like Stars in the Firmament" leans as vigorously in the other direction. If you know what Nothing does, then it's on the more dream-like shoegazing and less of the grungey 90s-flavored alt-rock that colored their most recent output. This song is a fair introduction to the band, but drifts and never really explores the full range of what they do, but we are only on the second song so it's too soon to tell. 

"Forever Well" is comprised of an atmosphere so intangible, that it is barely a shimmer in the waves of sound, until the drums come in.  That is not until the halfway point, but when the dynamic shifts Full of Hell does what they do. This is the first song where it felt like the two bands were blending what they do with one another. We get both the airy shoe gaze singing, and the throat wrenching screams toward the end of the song. I waited to cast dispersion on "Wild Blue" since the previous song took its time before the dynamic shift got to the point. There are only six songs on this album, so everyone should count, and that track feels like a wasted opportunity.

The title track takes less time ebbing into motion. A choir of surreal vocal layers chimes in. It feels more like another instrument joining in rather than a verse being established. I can appreciate the experiment here, as it pays off. Full of Hell drummer Dave Bland , is behind the kit for the duration of the album, as Nothing's drummer is touring with his other band Night Sins. Bland brings an interesting energy to the title track, that counterbalances the pulse of the guitar. 

It is hard for expectations to not be high for the last song, as if they are going to make some magic like they did on "Forever Well" then it has got to happen here. It takes almost two minutes for things to darken before a metallic explosion. There are both screamed and sung vocals, and the atmosphere takes the place of where a distorted guitar might normally sit.  I will around this up to an 8.5, which means it's a cool album, that is better than most of the new shit you are going to hear today, my expectations were a little high, but there are moments where it comes together better than I hoped.