Deafheaven - Sunbather Review

Deafheaven - Sunbather [Blackgaze] [Black Metal + Shoegaze]

The blackgaze genre was started by French one-man band Alcest. Since his debut, Souvenirs d'un Autre Monde, many acts have tried to pin down the genre, with the raw, primal emotion of black metal and the psychedelic, ultrasweet melodies of shoegaze. Deafheaven's debut, Roads To Judah, in 2011, wasn't groundbreaking. It was just four songs long and showcased dynamics and fusion ideas already demonstrated by Alcest, but with an added punk vibe that didn't come across as convincing across a mere four songs.




Two years later, we are presented with Sunbather, an album that completely obliterates the debut album with far superior songs (seven songs now) and a more convincing approach to the music. Its timing could also be only too welcome, coming in the wake of the absolute downer, Les Voyages De L'Âme, Alcest's overly self-indulgent album last year that signalled the end of the blackgaze movement. This album is rife with blastbeats, blood-curdling screams, and a fantastic sense of melody. The punk elements are more pronounced than ever, and the huge contrast of the wretched vocals against a gorgeous, beautiful shoegaze music is surprisingly emotive and thrilling.

The album's opening songs, 'Dreamhouse' and the aptly titled ambient instrumental that follows, 'Irresistible' are worth the weight of the album alone. The former has a fantastic chord progression that is at once bittersweet, an ambiguous combination of various emotions that made me fall in love with the genre. The song is also well-written in that it commands your attention even though its a verse-chorus that's repeated twice over the span of eleven minutes. The tempo is pleasant enough for a casual listen but George Clarke's vocals are intense and violent. This may upset fans who were initiated by Neige's soulful clean singing in Alcest, but this gives Deafheaven a very important sonic dynamic and identity. Some of you may find the music too pretty to even have vocals, but this is a subjective issue.

The album incorporates a lot of sounds from various genres whilst retaining the core sound of its predecessor. The title track, for instance, features post-rock atmosphere in its chorus and this eases the tension created by numerous blastbeats weaved into the song. This seamless pacing between dreamy warm chords and monstrously fast, heavy sections is a feat, the two forms of music stand side by side without contradicting each other. Elsewhere, 'Vertigo' starts off with a slow, post-metal guitar solo that relies on space and introversion before effectively bursting into a black metal frenzy. The transition was unpredictable and the song is one of the definite highlights of the album.

New drummer Daniel Tracy is a very strong addition to the group's sound. His blastbeats are ferocious, but his contribution to the shoegaze sections by guitarist Kerry McCoy and bassist Derek Prine are lucid and sensible, especially on 'Vertigo' and the title track. The band works with fantastic synergy, and this adds to the sense of passion that is abundant on the album. The closing ambiance of 'Windows' and the the warmth of 'The Pecan Tree' also form a sense of fulfillment by closing the circle that began the album with dark tones to a happy, euphoric end, or at least some juxtaposition of emotions.

All in all, I have no complains for Sunbather at all. It is an essential listen, it is a severely needed release after the decline of blackgaze, and it is dripping with passion. The musicians themselves are soaking in their music, unlike the commercial albums that have been spreading like a plague this year. With such a rich sound and approach, Deafheaven may not be your cup of tea, but it's damn well one of the best releases this year with respect to its genre.

★★★★★ Excellent - Undisputed classic for critical listening

Wild Nothing - Nocturne Review

Wild Nothing - Nocturne [Shoegaze]

Wild Nothing is a project by one man, Jack Tatum, who draws from dream pop, indie rock and shoegaze as the base of his sound. The result is technically the same as in other shoegaze albums, sweet melodies, windy vocals, drenched atmosphere and fuzzy production, but there are subtle differences that make the album stand out from the indie hipster scene (I'm looking at you, xx).

Whilst most bands in this genre seem to think that fuzzy production is the base of such music, Tatum has emphasised a lot on proper melodies that are bittersweet and never sound forced and overwritten. In fact, it is a modest album bereft of any affiliation with hipsters, and Tatum is self-aware in his song-writing, which is needless to say, one of the best of this year's astonishing music releases. Guitar technicality is a definitely plus, and the sleep riffs in this album have more creativity and ambition than anything Coldplay has ever attempted (case in point, the acoustic guitar solo that pops up abruptly in 'Through The Grass').




Songwriting-wise, Tatum's delivery is not rushed or overly long; timing being one of the biggest pitfalls of shoegazing music. He does not waste time repeating melodic sections and despite the slow pace of the music, the songs allow themselves to draw enough attention before overstaying their welcome. Part of this can be owed to the subtle song variations sneaked into the song templates that may not be so discernible in the mix unless the listener owns proper headphones. Usage of electronic synth, and a decent variety and not the same sound effects, use of strings and some actual effort in vocals, going from low-pitched solemn singing to high-pitched cooing in various songs. Guitar driven melodies like the title track and lead single 'The Blue Dress' spout classic rock moments whilst songs like 'Shadow' and 'Paradise' are driven by their melodic themes which at once make them more visual then aural, and elsewhere drums play a very important part in the pulse of more upbeat songs like 'Only Heather' and 'Paradise', helping to break apart the monotony of the stoner pace on the other songs, and the variety keeps the album fresh instead of becoming a dud after few spins. Tatum's unorthodox song-writing also manifests itself in 'Counting Days', where the countermelody of the guitar is the hook as opposed to the synth harmony that defines chorus. Smart,suave dynamics like this save the album from falling to mediocrity.

I wouldn't say this is my favourite indie/dream pop/shoegaze album this year, (Lotus Plaza probably still holds the cake for that title), but it is definitely a strong release that won't go unnoticed by true music connoisseurs. I highly recommend this album for fans of the genre or for people who want a nice slow change of pace.

★★★★☆ Good - Strong flow, immediately grabs you

Blut Aus Nord - 777 - Cosmosophy Review

Blut Aus Nord - 777 - Cosmosophy [Avant-garde Black Metal]








When Blut Aus Nord announced a trilogy of albums to be released within six months of each other last year, a lot of people wondered if the quality of music would be compromised for quantity. Devin Townsend and Ihsahn have put forth stale albums this year that could have been more polished on their own timing. So when the first two installments were released in the 777 trilogy, namely 777 - Sect(s) and 777 - Desanctification, a lot of people praised the freshness of the musical directions whilst people like me were rather alienated by the seemingly unmusical style of the band. Industrial computer beats, black metal riffs that drone in and out, mechanical but steady drums, and mostly indistinguishable vocals plagued the two albums and I didn't look through them again till late this year when the apparent message of the album sinked in - this is after all a concept about nightmare dreamscapes and fearful sounds, what else would it do but make you feel discomfort? With more spins, Sect(s) and Desanctification soon proved to be the more unorthodox and effective musical releases from this French metallers.


Followed by the news this year that the third installment would be delayed from February 2012 to September, simply because band leader Vindsval didn't find the product powerful enough then. Marketting plot or not, I listened to this record six months after it was due.


And then one understands the meaning of Vindsval's words when he announced the delay.


Immediately, things become apparent, the production is spacey and riffs float about within the first few seconds of Epitome XIV, before the first song starts proper with... vocals that have been processed by the vocoder while remaining as unintelligible as the previous records. While the previous records sounded evil and ominous, this record sounds bittersweet, emotional and triumphant, all at once.


As it progresses, Cosmosophy begins to unveil itself as something far beyond black metal at all, with an almost industrial backdrop and rapped out verse starting Epitome XV, a receipe that would spell cheesy disaster in the hands of another musician. But it is the final two epics, Epitome XVII and Epitome XVIII, with its post-apocalyptic compositions that even manage to find pieces of melodies from the previous two albums weaving in and out to fully utilise the fact that this is really a trilogy and not a bunch of albums with a similar theme. It is minimalistic, without the acrobatics of the past two polyrhythmic albums, and that is not to say 777 - Cosmosophy is replete of complexity.


As you listen, images of your own life would definitely surface as you let the music play. It was probably the inspiration for the 777 series when it was announced last year, but music this inspired, this paradoxical and this evocative is what differenciates the people who play music and the people who create music. If Tool, Pig Destroyer or Converge fail to make a more stunning album in the final quarter of the year, than we already have the album of the year. This is not even metal, this is music.


★★★★★ Excellent - Undisputed classic for critical listening