Great Falls : "The Bite That Grows Up"

This band features members of Kiss It Goodbye, Undertow, and Playing Enemy. However, musically, this time around they are playing sludge with shouted noise rock vocals. Thi si not to say their hardcore pasts do not shine through as they do. The creepier, more melodic passages are some of the most interesting parts of the opening track, and it makes the build-up pack more punch when it comes. The vocals are emotional, but burlier than screamo, so a lot is going on here. They blast into the more punk "Pinned Against Time". It is as chaotic as you might like your power-violence, but without fitting the parameters of that genre. It is, however, not as well written as the first song. 

The bass player is going crazy on "Worse Than Sleep," but for the sake of their sonic oddity and confrontational collision, they sometimes sacrifice the finer points of songwriting for this sound. This is, however, a little better than the previous song, as it locks into a tense palm-muted groove of sorts. They can obviously play their instruments and are capable of delivering, but are possessed by a fetish for aural abrasion. So three songs in and they are obviously more of a noise-rock band. "Hailstone Numbers" is the most minimalist, with his howling the focal point until midway in, when they start bringing the wall of crunch down. The drummer is impressive here, but finding a groove might work better. They throw in some angular riffs to jerk you around and command your attention. At seven and a half minutes, this is the album's longest song. There is, however, some dynamic ebb and flow that fans of this sort of thing might appreciate. "Debt Ethics" finds the drummer approaching it more like free-form jazz, where they jam around. If King Missle were angrier, they might have done something like this. 

At this point, I am getting sick of the vocals. It does not seem like "Nicotine in the Spine" is going to change my mind in this regard. Sure, I don't mind when Henry Rollins does this sort of thing, just like I think Ian Curtis's voice works for Joy Division, but I don't need to hear other bands doing that. There is some darker dissoance I appreciate. Two mintues in and they get more aggressive. This builds up into a furious buzz; "Buildings Full of Rope" just feels like what they build the previous song into, though it ends with a more metallic riff. I like the contrast they pull off with the more deliberate drumming conrasting the more frantic clanging drone. They have potential; all capable players. Maybe next time they will settle down and write more songs and not just clang up something to scare your ears with. I will give this one an 8, it drops October 18th on Neurot Records. 

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Chat Pile : "Who Loves the Sun"

The first thing I notice about the opening track to their new album is how the vocals have improved. More sung sections, along with harsh counterpoint. I also appreciate the darker tension lurking in the mood. Not as sludge-flavored as 20024's "Cool World" album, which took the number two spot on that year's Top 10 Sludge albums. Creepier than the Jesus Lizard but with a similar vibe. You can hear this on "Deep Blue," which falls somewhere between noise rock and grunge. They have always been great at capturing the color of feeling unhinged, and this album continues that tradition. They hammer at you harder as "Deep Blue" progresses, though I am reluctant to call this a metal album; however, I am only two songs in. 

"Same Rules" is more introspective that what you might expect from them. I like the mood here, and just wnat good songs, as I am not invested in these guys being heavy; if this was the new Watain, then we might have a problem. They are growing at what they do here. "Pen is Mall" is more pounding, with the vocals stepping up into a more aggressive snarl. The thump of the bass brings back the ghost of nu-metal that has haunted this band before. The noise rock side can be heard in the angular, ugly nature of how they engage this anger. The theme of this album is how the decay of society is due to collective apathy, so this might be why it is less confrontational, though they roar pretty furiously on "Shrine". 

"Oddly," there is almost a funky groove to the jangle of "Intruder", which is contrasted by the more explosive sections of the song. I like the lyrics that someone told him this house needs haunting. "Christabel 26" moves off a bass line that reminds me of Rollins Band. The howl of the vocals also works with this influence. The moredetached spoken vocals hold more in common with King Missile. There is also a depressed Nirvana feel to this one. The ugly angular noise throb continues on "Influence"; there is a similar tension as "Bleach" era Nirvana. This collides against the Jesus Lizard-like tension. 

"Family Funeral" slows the pound down. There is a dissonance to it that falls much clsoer to the bounds of noise rock. A spoken vocal mutters under the burly bassline. The vocals build into a tortured question of where the fuck is he supposed to go. The last song has to sound creepy, as it is called "October All of the Time," which is how I feel this time of year.It is more of a grunge ballad. I will give this album a 10 as it deserves. If this is not the album that breaks them into an even larger audience, it might not be happening and they cango back to being indie darlings. Regardless, they are creepier and more melodic, showing a great deal of growth, making this their best effort yet.

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Wailin Storms : "the Arsonist"

 Here is a project that has improved over the past decade. Each album has been a little more impressive as it has morphed from a noisy cow-punk band to something more focused and serving songs, rather than working on a sound. The opening track is pretty bleak and powerful, making this point clear. Then there is a shift into something more akin to 16 Horsepower for "Heart of Mine." They return to a darker clanging out that holds more in common with noise rock for "You Never Answered." 

The title track is darker and minimalist as the urgent plea of the vocals goes out into the empty space until the rest of the band slowly swells to life." Never Rest" carries a heavier stomp with some angular clamour creating a grungy atmosphere. It lurks with the collected chaos that the forerunners of grunge carried, harkening to the genre's punk roots.  "Saved" is darker but a little less focused despite the haunting manner it rumbles, feels more likea jam than a song written to hook you in. The first song that feels post-punk is "Patient Night." Then "the Wind," which feels more like a Wovenhand song, works pretty well with it's dark, stormy intensity. 

The last song is rather somber; it could be described as a ballad, as it drones off a piano part with more fragile, introspective vocals. It is worth noting that the vocals on this project have continued to improve, and at one point, on the first couple of albums, they were more of a sticking point for me. Now they are really effect and it feels like the missing piece to their sound has fallen solidly in place. Showing something many bands could learn from, which is that vocals are an essential element and not just an obligatory touch, but the vocal point of a good song. They have moved in the right direction, and this album si a testament to that; I will give it a 9.5 and see how it grows on me. I would not call it goth, but it is dark enough to appeal to fans of post-punk who work more of the kind of brooding summoned here. Being released on Season of Mist. 

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Under the Radar - Truck Violence : "Violence"

 Sometimes there is an album that goes unnoticed when released, and it takes some time before it gathers the buzz needed to come to your attention. This is the case with Canadian band Truck Violence, who released this album back in July of 2024, and just now entered my trajectory.   It flew under the radar and gathered a deserved buzz as it came to my attention. They incorporate punk vocals with an undercurrent of blast and odd, angular reverb reverb-heavy guitars that clang about; it feels like Iceage jamming with Cult of Youth at times. 

"Lecture" finds its vocalist mumbling to himself in a rather musing manner as the music broods in a 90s indie rock manner. When it explodes out, it is not done in as abrasive a manner as we first hear from them, showing they have levels of dynamics they are mature enough to shift from. Their first foray into folk is on the song "Gung buried in the front yard". This is being said with a dash of irony, but maybe they are sincere.  "The gash" has more of a hardcore feel, though it's dark and reflective. The return to the more folk sounds but with a more depressive feel for "He ended the bender hanging". The darker subject matter makes me take this one more seriously, and it builds into a more angular noise rock clamour. 

There is another folk ditty that feels more bluegrass emo. Not as serious as the previous song, but not done from a place of irony either. The last song feels more like noise rock, as it is not a feral explosion of anger, but a reflective unfolding of it. I will round this one up to a 10 it might be the best punk album from last year that you never heard. 

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Weary Heads : " Slowest Century"

Atlanta is always a few years behind New York and L.A. to the point that I though they were going to miss the boat altogether on the post-punk revival thing that started up six years ago. Here is an Atlanta act that is making an attempt and picking up this torch. At first listen these guys hit me as being what A Place to Bury Strangers might sound like if they were a lo-fi electronic act ? These guys have. They are dark and murky. Feed back is their friend. The guitar often over powers the little drum machine these guys have.  At times they muster up something that is raw enough to remind you of Swans, when they were in dingy New York cellars. They go for a more shoze glazed take on garage with "Guide". It has more of a Sonic Youth feel at times. Then they get heavier on "White is the Color of Death" . The vocals retain their apathy going into the song then boil up into what all the singers in the mid 90's were doing that wanted to sound like Trent Reznor. They are capable for building the vocal in a more Helmet like roar. Speaking of Helmet, to "Crept You".  I suppose it should come across more like Godflesh , but that is not what happens, the chug over powers the song and it gets messier the noisier it gets and much like the 90's trying to hard to be industrial only turns into bad metal.

"Gent XTC" carries it's sluggish heft with a narcotic daze. With a little better production this song might have been more interesting. It serves as an intriguing glimpse into what these guys could possibly become. I think a real drummer is in order. There a nice sonic sprawls that just happen to not be as complimented by the vocals as what these guys heard in play back. " Sick Joe" is one of those "happy accidents" when you get high enough leaving the rec button on. It's a collage of noise, that wasn't that great when the Beatles did it with "Revolution 9" as works even less here. "Hit It" has some interesting sounds in collision, but is only a minute and a half so they are not given time to really turn into anything. Some even cooler sounds transpire on "Tension Rising". The bass tone is pretty killer on this one.  This sounds like an avenue this band would be smart to further explore. It ends up droning on this in a manner than almost wears out it's welcome.

"Lake Hall" turns out to be another interlude that just indulges in atmosphere without becoming an actual song. "O, Casilda" sounds like old Inxs covering "Greed". This is the first song I would really call post-punk. While some of their influences come from the more noise ridden fringes of that scene, there is little about these guys that has anything in common with what eventually evolved into what we would call goth even in the more industrious moments. The album starts strong and is dark through out the journey they take you on, they just happen to get a little lost along the way. I'll give this album a 7.5 and look forward to this project's more polished future attempts.

Fight Amp : "Constantly Off "

These guys have been around for a minute, this is their fourth album. By your fourth album you know what you are doing and doing it with perfected intention. What they are doing is Holy, Quicksand Rollins this album really brings it back to the 90s. The opener is much more Quicksand, I know some people get a little butt hurt when I compare them to other bands, but the solution is simple don't lean so heavily on your influences. "That's just what comes out..." is bullshit, sure things sneak into your subconscious. The grunge is every where it's colliding with Amp Rep bands.  There is some "Bleach" era Nirvana clunking in angst on "Leveling in a Dream". They pick up the pace for some more rowdy nastiness on " You Don't Wanna Live Forever", which is snarling violent punkish rock that finds a slacker melody to emote over the pummeling. This is a unique trick, but I don't think its my favorite one in their arsenal.  The heavier punches at the end of the song is that one's best moment.

The dirty metallic bass leads into the first guitar part that perks my ears up on " I Perceive Reptoids" . The angular nature of what they are doing here darkens things and the vocals benefit from the quivering effects they submerse them into. This is the first song I have been sold on from the get go. The vocals take on a Kurt Cobain yell before the song gives its last kick. This songs are short most under four minutes. "Happy Joyful Life" has a pretty powerful stomp to that hearkens back to Helmet, but with a more a dissonant shadow to the song.This album is really hit or miss. I think its a 7, but even then this is a little flat and drab for my taste.