Keeping the rock at the forefront of the death rock equation, this San Frransico-based band carries a burly guitar tone. The dense fuzz of this raw recording should be listened to through headphones. Computer speakers are just going to make it sound like a blown-out speaker buzzing and bury the vocals. The vocals are sitting back in the mix as it is. This is like a nightmarish version of the Ramones. The vocals improve a little on the second song. It's not until "Only a Knife" that they switch it up. It drops down to a dreary creep. The vocals dip a little lower, causing them to fade into the wall of the guitar. The lyrics you can make out seem to have a horror movie-like narrative.
"Devotion' finds the blown-out speaker approach playing against them. It worked for the first three songs, but when they pick up to more of a punk pace becomes noise. More effort goes into the songwriting of "The Cabin". It carries a spookier groove that I appreciate though the low baritone vocals are just kind of droning along. By the time it gets to "Bright Like Perspex," the formula begins to lose its charm. I think in terms of production they could have gone in a Sonic Youth direction and had the abrasive ambiance with the clarity of tone. They get more punk for 'Ordinary Sin" and things stay murky, which I get is their thing it is a buzz of frequency rather than notes being played at this point.
They try to apply more songwriting to the last two songs. The vocals do not play a huge role in either song, but are just a texture so you are reminded there are vocals in the mix. The last is more punk of the two, though neither is uptempo. They are just beating you with the blown-out guitars as they slide by. I think there are good ideas in playing this kind of production value while it's a sound they have captured and plays into their identity, could be refined as the songs suffer from it, but I will give this an 8 for the effort.
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