Dressed In Streams - Dressed In Streams + Azad Hind (2013)

Band: Dressed In Streams
Country: USA
Style: Black Metal
Label: Handmade Birds

The entire Colloquial Sound Recordings catalog is filled with releases that are interesting and worth hearing (though I frankly haven't heard all of them), and Dressed In Streams is no exception. Having impressed Mr. R. Loren enough with their couple of tapes, he has decided to re-release them on vinyl. Since I haven't covered any of them I wanted to take the time to cover this new release.
In regards to Dressed In Streams you have a project that takes that traditional style of black metal, so raw, distorted, and atmospheric, and melds it with almost The Cure-esque melodies and synth tones. No surprises in the realms of originality, but this isn't blackgaze, this isn't post-black metal, this just happens to be traditional without actually being traditional. Melodies are perhaps the most important aspect to the songs on here, but sonically, it's a lot closer to the whole basement recording jobs that you heard in the 90s. The songs retain that intensity and necrocity that feels closer to that 90s sound, rather than the basement Darkthrone clones that really popped up at the beginning of the 2000s. There's an authenticity there that has been present in all of the Colloquial Sound releases. Most of their releases have had a tendency to take a punk-esque energy and inject it into that lo-fi black metal style, along with some other elements as well depending on the project, but in the case of this project, it gives it a sense of naturalism and energy that is almost never found in a record the sticks this closely to ways of old.
But it's perhaps the moments where it drifts outside of typical black metal is where I enjoy the songwriting most. The second half of The Breastplate Shine or a track like A Quiet Place definitely up that post-punk and/or goth rock influence. The synths come more into the forefront of the sound, the guitars take up a less rigid picking pattern, meaning that it isn't straight tremolo picking for that part of the song. Seriously, it's 2013 now and how many black metal bands have shed their facepaint and spiked armbands for leather jackets and Joy Division t-shirts? Many, but how many have actually fused the two sounds together in a way that even resembles authentic playing and not just studio trickery. Very few. Dressed In Streams appears to me at least to be a project capable of taking the two ideas and actually bringing them together in a way that is unique and is refreshing to hear. It's harsh and aggressive, but also very melodic and, at times, poppy and fun. Between the two sides there is a clear sonic distinction, with the first half having, at least in my mind, a much more varied sound, drifting between black metal and more of that goth rock style, whereas on the second half the styles feel more cohesively fused into a single entity.
Even having heard half of this release already, when it was released on the self-titled tape, this entire album is a great revisitation for me. The songs are fun and aggressive while being incredibly melodic (and not sounding contrived or cheesy in the process), which is more than I actually could have asked for from this project. It's definitely worth checking out if you're a fan of either black metal or goth rock.
Overall Score: 8
Highlights: The Breastplate Shines, Leaping Tiger

October Falls - The Plague of A Coming Age (2013)

Band: October Falls
Country: Helsinki, Finland
Style: Folk/Progressive Black Metal
Label: Debemur Morti Productions

I've been following October Falls for several years now, it I remember correctly, they were actually one of the first "underground(?)" black metal groups I first got into. Having compared them to Opeth early on, the project immediately appealed to me. It's taken me quite a while to get to this album, but better now than never I guess.
For all of that I began to feel the "gimmick" ran a bit thin after 2010's A Collapse of Faith where the entire album was made up of extended tracks that really act as a whole (one) track. That's not a gripe against either of the albums that M. Lehto did like that, but I felt like after two full-lengths like that, I wanted to see him get back to writing songs that were a bit more stand-alone. Luckily that's exactly what this album is. Featuring nine stand alone pieces that perfectly channel that melancholic atmosphere the band has developed and making it work within shorter song lengths. Besides that simple adjustment, I think that the songs are generally more accessible melodically as well, as the influences from and comparisons to melodic death metal can be heard throughout the album. In the past, I have found that the aspect I connected with the most from this band was it's melancholic atmosphere, no surprise that they site Katatonia as an influence, but rarely have I felt so invigorated by their melodies as I did when listening to tracks like The Verge of Oblivion or The Weight of The Fallen, which were surprisingly up-beat and driving songs.
I also have to say that the production on here is rather well constructed as well. I can't say offhand that I remember the bass coming through as clearly on the band's last full-length, but on here, it has quite a bit of crunch. You can just hear it punch through the guitar tones and while that may not matter to some, I've always admired a band that isn't afraid to put their bass in the mix of an album, and it certainly gave me even more enjoyment while listening to this. In conjunction with the huge sounding drum tone on the record, you get a rhythm section that really pumps. I hate to say that the guitars don't have the same sort of vibe, but then again, they probably weren't meant to. The tone is a bit less crunchy and is much more modestly distorted. It's not massively heavy or anything like that, so it's perfectly clear that making an all around intense sounding guitar tone wasn't on the band's mind but rather one that is clear enough to allow the melody to be heard it the best way. Finally there's the vocals, which are all fine and good for the most part but really come alive once Tomi Joutsen (of Amorphis) comes into the picture. While Lehto's screams are perfectly fine, Joutsen's resonant cleans just soar over the songs he's on. His work on Boiling Heart of The North is one of the most soulful tracks I've ever heard him on. His cleans actually are a nice contrast to Lehto's more intense screams.
So yeah, overall this was a nice solid album, definitely a nice change of pace from the typical style the last two full-lengths have been in my opinion. This is a lot easier to digest and grasp as well, with more immediate songs and solid songwriting. Definitely a nice treat if you're in the market for some more melodic black or death metal.
Overall Score: 8
Highlights: The Verge of Oblivion, The Plague of A Coming Age, Boiling Heart of The North

Barrow - Though I'm Alone (2013)

Band: Barrow
Country: Greensboro, North Carolina
Style: Screamo/Sludge Metal
Label: Mayfly

I don't recall off the top of my head how or why I decided to write about them but for some reason they wound up on my Ipod so I just said what the hell. I was not familiar with the band before listening to this record, but upon looking them up I was taken aback with the fact that they were a screamo group. I don't listen to a lot of screamo, but that certainly did pique my interest.
Compared to last year, my coverage of screamo music has seriously been put on hold. I like the genre enough and I really do wish that I could cover more of it than I do, but I can only cover what I find interesting and worthwhile. This, I think, is the first screamo record I've covered all year, and it's actually quite an abrasive record. I've heard a couple of screamo records, in general, that are really just pop-punk with terrible vocals and then I've heard screamo that is essentially post-rock with vocals. I prefer the latter but the former is where you can get onto Warp Tour and appeal to all the teens in their skinny jeans. Obviously there's plenty of middle ground in between those two but I didn't think that Barrow would be a band to occupy that middle ground when I first pressed play. I said this record was abrasive and I meant it. These guys find comfort in making noisy, and actually quite bleak sounding sludge metal instrumentally. I should be clear that when I say noisy, I don't mean like there's a lot of distortion but more in a sort of noise rock way where you have a lot of dissonant and sort of bizarre sounding parts. The guitars aren't even that distorted for most of the album, relying more on dynamics and intense builds and hard playing to make up for that loss.
These guys do that sort of style where the heavy parts will be quite hard-hitting and alternating that with somewhat jazzy cleaner sections. But it always maintains this very, to use the word again, bleak atmosphere that sounds more like it belongs on a funeral doom band than a group like this. It's quite oppressive how it's utilized in each song, so even if things lighten up for a minute there will still be this brooding quality lurking in the background waiting for things to explode again. Then there's the more somber post-rock sections of the album, like on Wither, in which the band are definitely channeling some of their inner Envy, to good effect I might add. But really the variety that this band channels through their instrumentals was quite impressive. Some parts were clearly post-rock/metal oriented, others were more straight-forward sludge metal kind of stuff, then you had almost jazzy prog-rock leanings during some tracks, while other moments recalled the dissonance and craziness of noise rock. It can be chaotic as well as beautiful, heavy and soft. These traits are nothing new to people who read this blog and listen to more than what's on the radio, but the way this band pulls it off still managed to impress me.
I was really impressed with what this band was able to pull off in each of these songs and the end result is an album that is wildly fun to listen to as well as somewhat depressing in its tone. That isn't meant as a diss, but there were some spots on this album that did feel genuinely depressing in their performance. I know screamo isn't exactly the genre of choice when coming to this blog (but what really is anymore), but hopefully you'll give this record a chance.
Overall Score: 8
Highlights: A Dead Hum, Echoed, Fed (Choking, Retching), God's In His Heaven - All Is Well

Northless - World Keeps Sinking (2013)

Band: Northless
Country: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Style: Sludge Metal/Post-Metal
Label: Gilead Media

I've been following Northless for a couple years at this point and have yet to be disappointed with their brand of sludgy post-metal. While it was never the most unique sounding on the block, in terms of just utilizing their sound to various extremes and sonic weight, they were certainly one of the few able to achieve that. Their split with Light Bearer last year was one of my favorite splits of the year and hearing them follow up was definitely enticing.
Up until this point in their career, in my mind Northless has always been a sludge metal band. Yes, they've flirted with doom and post-metal, but at their heart they were a sludge metal band. They were also heavy as all hell, with absolutely weighty and bass rumbling guitar tones, but on this album the completely blew me away. Sludge metal bands, post-metal bands, and to a certain extent doom metal bands, have never been the most adventurous genres. They're slow and heavy, for the most part, and they like it that way, but with this album Northless has really taken a big step forward by choosing to expand their sound and play with some other genres as well. Whether it's through the use of black metal or math rock or prog-rock the band hit each genre inclusion with confidence and the skill one wouldn't expect from a band within this genre. But make no mistake, just because the band are playing around with some new ideas doesn't mean that older fans should be weary of what's on here. The band still keep things heavy and crushing, only now it's more exciting.
There's also no denying how strangely catchy this album is. As someone who's a fan of angular and dissonant sounding riffs, this album really hit a sweet spot with me. It was channeling all those bands that I love (Deathspell Omega, Gorguts, Blut Aus Nord, Ulcerate), whether intentional or not, and doing something a bit different by melding similar ideas with their own previously established sound. The title-track really got me, with that simplistic but extremely piercing main riff, I found it impossible to not put that song on repeat. Though to be fair, merely comparing the band to those would do a discredit to what they're doing on here, it's simply a frame of reference thing. For as much dissonance and chaos as there is on this record, there is also melody and beauty, a call back to more of the band's post-rock/metal traits exhibited in the past. A song like Passage perfectly encapsulates that more tranquil sense of beauty while still bringing the heavy when the song climaxes. Yes it's a genre trope that we're all familiar with at this point but when I'll keep bringing it up as long as bands like Northless keep doing it well. But it's worth noting that for as much beauty can be heard in the album's two longest tracks, Communion and Passage, the rest of the album keeps things nice and aggressive and tense. I'm serious when I say that some of these riffs are irresistible (at least to me) because they balance heavy with dissonant so well.
As much as I dug what the band was doing before, I certainly did not expect an album of this caliber to come from them, which resulted in my mind being blown. I can't see this record not being somewhere in my top albums of the year in a few months. This is such a good and well crafted piece of work, so do yourself a favor and check this one out as soon as you can.
Overall Score: 9
Highlights: World Keeps Sinking, Passage, Wither and Escape

Agarttha - A Water Which Does Not Wet Hands (2013)

Band: Agarttha
Country: Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Style: Krautrock/Post-Rock
Label: King of The Monsters

I have been meaning to cover this record for quite a while now and it's an album that I have heard nothing but praise for since it first came out. It's also been an album that I've had a couple of people ask me why I haven't covered it yet, so I figured I better get my act it gear. However I also had to give it a number of listens to give it the respect it deserved.
I've seen several comments from friends and acquaintances claiming that this is one of the best records to come out this year, which really surprised me. It wasn't that I didn't believe them but that I had had this record for quite awhile at this point and hadn't really given it a proper listen, and these people who I like and respect are telling me that I've been missing out. I remember hearing the first track that was released for the album but at this point it had still been out for quite a while and I had the full album so I really wanted to see what the hype was about. All I could have told you about the track that first came out, was that it was heavily synth driven music that recalled some of the greats like Can and Popol Vuh in my mind. I've actually described Locrian's sound by referencing both those bands in the past as well, but as you might imagine, there is quite a bit of separation between those either Can and Popol Vuh as well as between Locrian and Agarttha; but it is fair to bring up both groups when talking about either band because they take ideas from classic krautrockers like those and adapt them into something fresh and interesting.
I really don't want to make this whole review about a comparison between Locrian and Agarttha but to sum it up rather briefly, and at least in my book, unjustly, Locrian is obviously more metallic sounding but also tends to ride out on more interesting groove (because they have a real drummer), whereas the six songs on this album tend to find an atmosphere and the drums don't provide as strong a backing, and it's not as metal. That's a pretty rushed and, as I said, unjust difference between the two because obviously both projects have their moments where they will do what I said the other one does, but if I had to point out a difference at the moment that would have been it. I think it's rather crude but it should separate them enough for people. But to return focus to this album, it genuinely shocked me at how much this album did take from the likes of doom metal. Storms As He Walks, which is also the name of the record label run by Crisne (in association with Todd - you guys know who you are), definitely channels the genre in a way that I actually haven't heard done before. It takes that low end rumble and sets it against this very textured synth background before adding in a guitar and vocal part that would sound like a perfectly fine folk song on it's own. While I think wrapping ones head around the first part wouldn't be hard, the idea of imagining a folk guitar and vocal part riding on top of textured synth and droning, distorted guitar chords might strike some as being odd. But it's so awesome that it works and I haven't heard anything like it.
The first half of the album, in my opinion, is a bit more synth driven, with watery sounding pads and chords being played. That's where that Popoh Vuh comparison came in, there's a lot of droning synth scapes that just sort of play out in a way that can recall psychedelia the 70s and 80s but also sounds modern and slightly indie as well. Mind you it never becomes dull or boring because Crisne really knows her stuff and quite rightly is able to keep most of the tracks on here rather short and compact, so as to not overstay her welcome in your speakers. And yet when it all finishes up, you (or at least I) just want to put this record on again. It's entrancing but not engulfing, it's, like I said, psychedelic but also somewhat indie, raw and yet produced. All that and there are ideas I've never heard done before that make this a sure fire winner in my book.
I'm not gonna lie, I did come into this record a bit skeptical that it wasn't going to live up to the hype I had heard about it, but it surpassed it. Honestly with how I feel about it right now this review probably is still somewhat meager in quality when living up to what this actually is. I'll continue to praise this record later on in the year as well, so you can expect that. Definitely do yourself a favor and check this one out.
Overall Score: 9
Highlights: Visions of Alina, Storms As He Walks

Oikos - Solve Et Coagvla (2013)

Band: Oikos
Country: Madrid, Spain
Style: Drone/Industrial
Label: Land of Decay

Okios is a project I wasn't really sure what to expect from when I got the promo for it a couple of months ago. Simply knowing that it was being released by Land of Decay and featured André Foisy himself on a track was enough to get my attention for sure, but I was still trepidatious. It was only after listening that I realized that there was no reason for that hesitation.
I've made it pretty clean (I'm assuming) in the past that I'm not a really huge fan of industrial based music, or at least in the sense of the really extreme and underground stuff. Once in a while I'll get really impressed with what an album and/or project is doing and that's great, but I'm always somewhat cautious about these sorts of albums because just as often as I find a project that's really interesting and cool, I'll find an album that's quite bland and really quite boring. Granted, Land of Decay doesn't put out "industrial" records in the same way that some other labels do and tend to focus more on the experimental side of drone (if I'm trying to stereotype them that is) and that's more where this project's focus appears to lie. In that regard, I'm actually happy, simply because for one reason or another drone is something I can get into, industrial, in some respects, is not. Not to say that there aren't some harsher tones on here that could fit on some of the more warped ideas that I find from those underground projects (just to be clear, I'm talking more about projects like Steel Hook Prosthesis rather than Nine Inch Nails - for those that might get the two confused when I say industrial), but they never breach outside of more steady pace that the drones create. You don't get the harsh clangs and effect-laden vocals, but rather occasional effected "beat", and I use that word lightly in the case of this album, or the tone of the feedback, but that's very nit-picky things. The best example of this release even going for that sort of a sound would be on the shortest piece on here, Solve, which I would say definitely takes at least a bit of an influence from glitch based music. But then there's a track like the closer, Vimana, which appear to take a bit from shoegaze and/or ambient music, contrasting the harsher and more abstract tones heard on the track that came before it with more of a lush sounding soundscape. Omniscence, the track featuring André Foisy actually sounds closer to his work in Eolomea than what he's done in either Locrian or Kwaidan; and that's pretty much the closest sonic comparison I could actually make for this entire release, though it honestly doesn't strive for the intensity that Eolomea does.
So yeah, it's a solid little album, not sure why there's a radio edit of a track on here though, but aside from that it's a very solid slab of drone. It's pretty confident in the choices that it takes on here, whether it's though various subtle effects or Foisy's contribution, it feels very well thought out and well planned. It's a nice little diamond in the rough for all those people who are looking for a new drone project to keep an eye on.
Overall Score: 8
Highlights: Omniscence, Vimana

Munly & The Lee Lewis Harlots - Munly & The Lee Lewis Harlots (2013)

Band: Munly & The Lee Lewis Harlots
Country: Denver, Colorado
Style: Alternative Country
Label: Pesanta Urfolk

I don't know what I was expecting from this effort from Munly & The Lee Lewis Harlots but I can say that it wasn't what I wound up hearing. For good or bad, Pesanta Urfolk is a label that I don't have a whole lot of contact with but I was reliably informed that this was a good album so I gave it a chance. Boy oh boy was it something different than what I thought.
Simply based on the cover art I figured this wouldn't be more of the metal side of Pesanta Urfolk, what with the more vibrant colors, but that was about it when I first got it. I was later informed that it was a re-release of this band's 2004 album, obviously expanded and remasterd, but I gave it a listen because of the praise that friend of mine gave it. Pretty much from the tone and vibe of Amen Corner alone I figured that this would be up my alley. I'd like to think that I've loosened up in the last year or so and am a bit more open to country music, so when this just kept hitting it out of the park I let it just hit that sweet spot in me that I reserve for this sort of music. When I hear a country record that's done poorly or just doesn't live up to what I want(ed) it to, it's very disappointing, but when I hear a good/great record, it just fills me with that warm and fuzzy feeling because I know that it is genuine and whatever emotion that is being conveyed in a certain song is resonating with me.
This album really goes through some pretty radical tonal shifts throughout from up-tempo fun and what I would call more lighthearted tracks like Old Service Road to much darker and introspective ones like Cassius Castrato The She-Male of The Mens Prison. But between those two extremes there is much ground covered from scathingly cynicism to brutal realism to more subtle bouts of comedy (whether intentional or not, those exist on here), each idea from a given song managed to his home and hit hard. Yet despite all the highs and lows on here the general tone is more up-tempo and fun sounding, with the majority of the darkest and most introspective "man and his guitar" moments leading into band grooves that will worm their way into your head despite the morbid lyrics. But don't think that this is all country stuff, stylistically this album takes several ideas from other genres as well, such as obvious ones like blues and folk rock, but also less expected turns like cajun and pop music as well. While the entire record is catchy, the latter half definitely brings some very pop sounding vocal hooks to the table, Of Silas Fauntleroy's Willingness to Influence The Panel being a prime example of such.
It's all well and good until it's not though, the few tracks that don't lead to that more anthemic tempo and stay morose and low for their duration, the brutal Goose Walking Over My Grave for example, perhaps stick out the most. Because they don't have that, for lack of a better word, poppy sensibility, it just drags you down without any real saving graces, but is stronger because of it. Yes, the chorus of that particular song is strong, like most tracks on here, but because it's so somber and bleak, instrumentally as well as lyrically, it's even more haunting.
It isn't a stretch when I say that this album is really good and good fun to listen to. It's filled with soul and passion but also incredibly dark and morose when it needs to be, and if that isn't a sign of good songwriting than I don't know what is. Perhaps the average person who visits this blog might see this as a strange little detour from what I usually cover (do I even have a style I cater to?) it's well worth checking out because it's got plenty to offer any person willing to listen.
Overall Score: 9
Highlights: Amen Corner, Ragin' Cajun, Goose Walking Over My Grave, Jacob Dumb