I really wasn’t expecting much from August but it turned out to be an incredible month for music. It was also the first time I got to go to a music festival since Covid started so that’s just the cherry on top.
I’d also like to say thank you for reading this blog, there are so many more of you that I could ever have hoped for, it means so much to me.
Right now, on to the new music.
Max Cooper
Yearning for the Infinite remixed
I’m a big fan of Max Cooper but sometimes I can find it a bit too sedate, it’s aimed more for home listening and sometimes I’d just like it to bang a bit more. Luckily he always has a remix album after one of his main releases and this allows the tracks to be warped into more of a dance floor direction, without losing what made them great in the first place.
The album opens with HAAI’s tense and driving version of Scalar, Josh Wink’s mix is a slow build, acid tinged stormer. Steffi brings the kind of class you’d expect and Fort Romeau’s Love Eternal mix will hopefully put a smile on dance floors across the world.
Red Meat
Homo Vulgaris
No one likes a music gatekeeper, but there’s a certain snobbishness I just can’t get over with the current EMB / Industrial revival that’s been going on for the last few years and I can sum it up in one Simpsons meme.
I’m sure I’m not the only person who’s felt like this over the last few years.
This is not a problem with Red Meat. Coming from his Industrial adjacent (and really good) Ded.Pixel, Rhys has used his down time to make something much harder than his main band. (Hopefully we’ll get that new Ded.Pixel music soon.) As you might expect, an ep called Homo Vulgaris – A Voyage Through the Superego of the Pansexual Barbarian is not going to be an easy listening experience but if you’re in the mood for some harsh music and punishing beats, you’re in the right place.
The first track, Eat Me, Beat me arrives with the full force of Front Line Assembly at their peak, distorted vocals screaming, with the bass trying to rattle your brains out, it’s throwback, but in a very good way. This feels more like celebrating older industrial music, not picking through it’s bones.
Subtlety isn’t the point here, the punishing Three Tennents is offset somewhat by using a sample from Human Traffic, I mean, I find it really funny but I suspect that wasn’t the intended effect. Some of the lyrics are… colourful but I wouldn’t expect anything else from an ep with that title. I mean this album just doesn’t let up.
To be honest with you I haven’t had this much fun with an Industrial release in years.
So strap on your most buckled stompy boots, activate your Tactical Neural Implant and hit the floor.
They’re on streaming as Red-Meat, which I missed, so here’s a link for ease.
Deafheaven
Infinite Granite
There’s been a whole lot written about Deafheaven switching from Blackgaze to something more Indie / shoegaze, but I can’t be bothered with any of that. The main question has to be, is this album any good? Opinion across the internet seems to be split but I’m really enjoying it.
The album has a shaky start, Shellstar is a very average indie number until the five minute mark where the song just takes off, the guitars soar and the album finds its feet. In Blur reminds me of Slowdive, which will never be a down side from where I’m sitting. Great mass of Color is the first glimpse of their old style as George breaks out his throat scaring screams.
It’s pretty amazing just how confidently the band holds back on their old sound. Track 5, the fantastically named Lament for Wasps is the first time they deploy the double kick drums. It’s the last half of the last song before they go full on metal. They could have peppered more of their old sound in to keep their fans happy but they bravely and correctly held it back.
There’s a whole bunch of hand-wringing going on about Deafheaven losing something, transitioning from metal to this sound, but to be honest Blackgaze seems to be played out. (Probably Ghost Bath’s fault) Yes, there are thousands of bands swimming in these musical waters but only a few of them are very good, and this album my friends, is very good.
Sarmism
Wonder Lands
Sarmism released his debut album in September last year so I certainly wasn’t expecting anything from him this soon. I wasn’t expecting it to be this much of a step up either.
Taking the sound he was shaping on Lessons he’s improved in almost every way giving us a warm IDM album to stand with the best of them.
The album opens with Elixir, a huge and bright sound, it would have been perfect for a summer but we can still enjoy it’s warmth as the nights draw in. I’m pretty sure Oroshi, the second track samples a word from Charlie the Unicorn which confused the hell out of me but doesn’t lessen the track, once I stopped twitching over it. Tig Points is an IDM banger and Codename WL bursts into frantic percussion with a warm, almost rubbery base.
If you’re into complex percussion and a lot of low end then this record is perfect for you. Unfortunately the album isn’t on streaming yet, nor are any of these tracks on youtube so I’ll just link to his bandcamp page. Spend the £5, it’s worth it.
https://bricolageglasgow.bandcamp.com/album/wander-lands-bc065
Tacoma Narrows Bridge Disaster
The World Inside
The question I find myself asking as I sat down to listen to this album is, do I give a damn about post metal at this point in my life. It’s not something I listen to much any more and as a genre, it feels that it is pretty played out.
Luckily, this album is really good. It may not revolutionise anything but if you’re looking for a great blend of post rock and post metal then this is going to be something you’ll want in your ears.
What makes the album stand out is the lack of grinding repetition, it’s fluid and dynamic, it keeps moving and never gets boring. It’s not focused on builds and crescendos, the songs play out as they need to without ever falling into genre tropes.
It’s good to see their older single, Truth Escapes finally makes it onto an album, as the only track with vocals, it stands out and works well as a centrepiece.
If I have any criticism of the album it would be that it’s a little too indebted to TOOL but seeing as how dull TOOL have become, it’s nice to hear other people exploring that sound a bit. But apart from that, this is a gem of an album in a genre that is feeling increasingly stale.
And now for my album of the month.
Sugar Horse
The Live Long After
Sugar Horse first appeared in Bristol in ‘19 with a fantastic ep called Druj, mixing a whole lot of genres together and making a fantastic Bad Noise. They were just beginning to make a bit of headway when Covid arrived and it was back to square one. I’m not sure if it was the extra time they had to hone their sound but the progression from their 2 eps and singles is remarkable.
The first track acts as an intro before they explode with the amazingly named, Shouting Judas at Bob Dylan. And it’s like being kicked in the face. SH combines noise rock, sludge metal, post metal and something that’s damn close to goth. In fact, the second track, Fat Dracula (love the song names lads) is possibly even harsher than the opener, before the band suddenly drop the intensity with Phil Spector in Hell.
Phil Spector in Hell is drenched in reverb, coming close to an 80’s alternative sound, that while not quite Goth probably has a few eye liner pencils in front of it’s bedroom mirror. It’s the only song that has entirely clean vocals, a refreshing change and marks a shift for the rest of the album. From here on in there is a lot more space in the songs, while that amazing metal attack is still there, there are huge, crushing riffs but they get space to breathe. I mean there’s even some Slowdive-esque guitar in Dadcore World Cup.
This record just hits so many of my buttons it’s not funny.
I mean, I’m dangerously close to stopping people in the street and demanding they listen to this album. If you can deal with a harsh metal vocal and love huge, filthy riffs then jump on board, this album is ridiculously good and just booted it’s way into my top 5 albums of the year.
I don’t know which song to preview as Terrible things isn’t on Youtube. Here’s a bandcamp link..
https://sugarhorse.bandcamp.com/track/terrible-things-are-happening-as-we-speak
And this is the opener. It’s a great taster for the album.
It’s been a great month, see you back here next time.
In the meantime, here’s a dance playlist made for the Indian summer we probably won’t get.
The ways of exile 