Wrekmeister Harmonies : "We Love to Look at the Carnage"

Now on their 5th album these guys have crossed over fully into Nick Cave's neighborhood. I guess that place is called folk. It's sort of dark, more moody. Minimal arrangement and the vocals dominate like folk. Unlike folk they are more spoken than sun. Jamie Stewart from Xiu Xiu lends his voice to the song "Still Life With Prick Cancer" .  Things get weirder here. There is noise floating around. Stewarts vocals are a hushed desperate plea. It works much in the same way as the first song, but with none of the Nick Cave sense to it. I think it's the most subtle use of dynamics I have heard this project encompass. It's very pretty , but not something I would keep in my iPod and put in rotation with Tom Waits or Joy Division. Those acts are more song focused. This paints with the sonics. I often complain about bands being ore focused on sound than songs. Well if you are going to do it and make it the exception to the rule this is one way.

Thor Harris of Swans also adds percussion to this album. That makes perfect sense when you consider the direction this is going in.  It is only heavy in the sense the abrasive turns it takes challenge you. It has been a weird day for music for me as I just finished reviewing the new Today is the Day. If you like this album, you will likely at least appreciate the Today is the Day album as it disregards most conventions of rock music. This is more like the looming dusk that commiting to the kind of darkness you feel.  "Coyotes of Central Park" gets back to the kind of morbid Americana they
simmer in on the first song .  "the Rat Catcher" is almost just like the new mournful post- "Push the Sky Away" Nick Cave. It's well done and there are pleasing sounds from the instrumentation , but it's Nick Cave worship for sure. For minutes in their are more intense electric sounds coming that give it more depth. It's doomy without owing anything to Black Sabbath.

"Immolation"is the last song and it goes into a more atmospheric post -rock sort of thing with the rock elements dialed back. It carries the same kind of narration as the bulk of these songs which fades into the background at this point. I will give this album an 8. It is pleasing to your ears, and well done for what it is , but what it is comes too close to Nick Cave and I already have all of his albums. If you are a fan of these guys you can round it up a half a point.

the Top 10 Post-Punk Albums of 2018

It is that time again. While I have made the distinction before, for the sake of this list . These band are dark, but not goth and going more in the direction of punk or worker off a heavier tension.The score from my reviews to help determine the ranking , but also how many times Last FM told me I listened to each album.An album can have all the critical acclaim in the world but if it does not inspire multiple listens then how good can it actually be ? While the top ten lists for other genres were more balanced this list leans heavily on the side of new bloods. Rather than posting media of a track from each band I am leaving a link to the review, which will contain Bandcamp or Full Album Streams. Ok enough talking about it, the time has come to dig into the top 10 post-punk albums of 2018.

10-Way Out- "Arc of Descent"

 This Rhode Island band makes me happy because they are not trying to impersonate Joy Division. I love Joy Division, but I own those albums. The vocals were what I keyed in on, as they are the only aspect of this band that might cross over into death rock. They can be frantically tense as well as shoot into something with a high energy punk feel to it.


https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/08/way-out-arc-of-descent.html

 9-Burning Gates - "New Moon"

 They  blend their punk side well with their dark side, The song structure is dynamic and I get the feeling the guitarist grew up listening to metal as some of the riffs have a slight Randy Rhodes feel.  The more metallic punches are interesting and at times it sounds like they might be going into a guitar solo but use restraint in order not to.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/10/gothtober-burning-gates-new-moon.html

8-Wrekmeister Harmonies-"the Alone Rush"


This album is dark and introspective ,not far removed from Leonard Cohen or the more recent work of Nick Cave. JR Robinson possesses a rich resonate baritone. It anchors this song that would almost float away if not for his voice grounding it. I  am not sure I would call this goth, but it is heading in that direction. There is more of an organic almost Americana feel, that keeps it out of the bat cave.


https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/03/wrekmeister-harmonies-alone-rush.html





7-Trashlight - "Wilted" 


 They are dreamy, yet dark. Their guitar has that bat cave reverb without them sounding like thinly veiled Cure covers. Their strength is the inter play of the male and female vocals which keep them from sounding like any one band.The production is interesting while the album leans in the Bat Cave direction, the layers of guitar come across clearly. Even when it gets lost in the shadows of the back alleys they are haunting it's atmosphere is still compelling .

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/10/trashlight-wilted.html

6-Shitty Person- "Judgement"


   Meeting somewhere between doom and slow core, they set themselves apart with touches like a sax comes in to make you imagine Morphine coming back from the dead. There is a western swagger at times leaving The narcotic drone of the pacing as the only thing heroin to what they do. The male and female vocals are layer, both sound equally detached. Often falling into a depressed country feel. The vocals remain in the low end of his slacker baritone and lack the twang of country, but the mood is there. These would be better drinking songs than anthems for a shooting gallery.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/04/shitty-person-judgement.html

5-King Dude - "Music to Make War to" 

 This album comes from a place more like the shadowy paths the likes of Nick Cave or Micheal Gira normally walk down, but how far from there was he to begin with? There is a smoother touch to the croon of the vocals. Piano also plays a more dominate role. "Velvet Rope" feels like a more organic version of Sisters of Mercy.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/08/king-dude-music-to-make-war-to.html

4-Unmaker - "Firmament"

 The opener takes many of the elements that made Beastmilk great and follows a parallel path. Some of this might be due to members of both bands having a background in metal. This gives them more punch than your average post-punk band.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/10/gothtober-unmaker-firmament.html

3-Dead Register - "Captive"

 There is a more soaring feel to this album. The croon of their lead singer sounds more nuanced and refined. It heads in more of an Interpol direction than a bellow. The metallic elements are more of a booming undertone and not the focus. They bring many layers together and weave them in a way that works well. While you can tell they are influenced by doom, they are not a doom band, at least not how we define doom around here. After additional listens the guitar melody really struck me and it became clear how much more polished of an effort this is.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/11/dead-register-captive.html

2- Lowfaith - "On Loss"

 The new face of what has become goth now shows up in hipster bars, in black but without the make up. That could also describe this band from Denver. At times more dream than pop, draped in more shadow than darkness. Then the bust into a more punk paced indie rock. This does have a Cure like darkness to it, that is more obvious when they slow back down a little for "Again, Again, Again". This moping take on shoe gaze is not with out dynamics and these guys have more balls than you might expect. They don't rely on being artfully melodramatic, and get actually heavy. This album continues to surprise me with each song.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/10/gothtober-lowfaith-on-loss.html

1-Heads -"Collider" 

 In the wake of the short lived post-punk revival we are beginning to get bands who might have been inspired by bands like Joy Division, but go deeper and pull out thoughtfully bleak work of their own. This is one of those bands. I like the fact it reminds me of  Swans, as its post-"Greed" Swans where most bands are stuck on that era. They do have their own personality and are not as pounding or sonic as Swans. There  are some angular guitar moments, but it comes from more of a rock n roll place. The vocals go into a slightly higher shoe gaze coo.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/04/heads-collider.html

Wrekmeister Harmonies : "the Alone Rush"

This duo is not a metal band, but has collaborated with a great deal of metal musicians. This album was conceived in a more isolated setting in Astoria , Oregon rather than Chicago. The only guest contributor to this album aside from the producer is Swans percussionist Thor Harris. You know how I feel about Swans, so I have to cover this. The opening track is a dark introspective piece that is not far removed from Leonard Cohen or the more recent work of Nick Cave. JR Robinson possesses a rich resonate baritone. It anchors this song that would almost float away if not for his voice grounding it. I  am not sure I would call this goth, but it is heading in that direction. There is more of an organic almost Americana feel, that keeps it out of the bat cave.  The introspective tenderness carries over into "Descent into Blindness". The instrumentation might even be more surreal on this song.

Sometimes Robinson's phrasing falls in a way that makes it seem like he is reciting poetry rather than singing. "Behold ! the Final Scream" starts off not as dark, then three minutes in the bring in distortion that broods like a storm rolling in. The synths that float above the distorted guitar give it more of a horror movie feel. What I like most about these guys are Robinson's vocals so whenever those are not as prominent, I am not as drawn in. Fans of harder edged post-rock will enjoy this atmosphere. Lyrically lines like 'if I lie awake at night/ thinking of you drained of life" are what makes the song heavy more than the droning chug of guitar. "Covered in Blood From Invisible Wounds"finds Robinson coming to more of a compromise between a croon and spoken word. The lyrics roll more freely in this manner. "Forgive Yourself and Let Go" begins in an even more delicate fashion. For the first six minutes the song simmers. Samples bubble under the ambiance giving it a more dream like quality.  It is like dreaming of an orchestra tuning up and then things go astray.Things do swell in intensity . This is done in a more post-rock manner than metal.

The vocals finally come in four minutes into the hovering ambiance of  title track that closes the album. Some of the piano melodies in the background give the feeling this could be on the soundtrack of a David Lynch film. While I am not incredibly versed in this project's body of work, this album strikes me as being more introspective. The mood captured is the feeling of being numb after being flooded with loss. I'll round this one up to a 9 as they have obviously created the album they had in mind. In the perfect world I would like something more centered around his vocals, but can see where less in more in their minds. If you are already a fan of this project then you will find this stark piece of work an interesting addition.

Wrekmeister Harmonies : "Light Falls"

In a similar sonic space as Swans if we are talking about of the more atmospheric moments. The expanded line-up now features members of Godspeedyoublackemperor!, which also clues you in as to what you are getting yourself into. It's a shame I don't do drugs anymore, because these guys would be the perfect music to drop some acid to if you were feeling more meditative than going with Skinny Puppy. Drums come in to help ground "the Light Burns Us All" which is what the female vocals were chanting earlier in the album. The builds into a heavier pulse. There is more sonic intensity, but it's not heavy as in metal. However this would work better on a list of of non-metal artists that would appeal to metal heads than some of the choices place upon the list that Invisible Oranges released. Not sure how emo or the Arctic Monkeys works for anything, but tepid click bait.

Thematically the album is based around the concept of the gradual change from light to darkness and I can hear how dusk might be conveyed in the atmosphere of "Light Sick". The violin cuts through the minimalist ambiance. The drums once again elevate the intensity by kicking the song into an almost "No Quarter " like groove. There is a very similar dynamic to the formula this album seems to have established on the other songs , starting more sedate then swelling into a sonic storm cloud. The spoken word vocals return on "Where Have You Been My Lovely Son?". This really feels more like an interlude that "Some Were Saved, Some Drowned" pours out of. The vocals rise out of their more narrative to build into more of a yell. The reprise of "Where Have You Been My Lovely Son?" is more of an outro as it doesn't really expand much more on what they have already done, except expand the lyrical perspective.

There are some pretty pleasing sounds on this album that certainly massaged my ear drums the right way, but I am not sure this is an album that I would derive a great deal of listening out of due to the fact it's mainly instrumental and it works of the same vibe for the bulk of the album. I will give this album an 8 as this project successfully recorded what they set out to do and are talented musicians. If you are fan of post-rock this might go a little further for you.