Sadeyes takes the innermost thoughts of Portland based writer Nathan Lewis and projects it out onto a canvas of emotive beats and lyrics straight from first hand experience in order to create something that is undoubtedly unique. Combining traditional lo-fi samples, alternative tones and enough autotune to make Post Malone cry – the debut full length Monarch is definitely a body of work to set critics fighting it out head to head in a battle of correct opinions.
Hyperpop is the new sensation sweeping the globe, and it’s certainly a strong flavour at that. Fortunately for those that aren’t as keen, these specific elements act more as undertones throughout the aforementioned record. Clocking in at 33 minutes of playtime and a notable 14 tracks in length, sadeyes uses monarch to take his fanbase on a journey from his own perspective. Each song contains a distinct melancholy edge, certainly doing the artist’s stage name justice and making it difficult to pin down if the entire record is one continuous narrative, or if each song is a confessional storyline in its own right. The album’s second track featuring heavy hitters Lil Extra & Nothing, Nowhere is in no doubt one of the album’s high points. With a video shot in true DIY style, ‘i’m not okay’ sums up its artists characteristics in one smooth two & a half minute delivery. Feeling like you’re stuck in a rut with each day feeling like one consistent loop is a feeling most of us are familiar with at some point in our lives, and sadeyes uses this track as his own catharsis to exercise this particular demon. It’s well crafted and relatable, and each lyric rings out with a razor sharp honesty.
Formed in Worcester in 2008, Fights & Fires are a five piece that deal in rock and roll infused melodic punk. Their latest release, Future Plans And The Things That Ruin Them is a short but sweet five track salvo, written throughout lockdown and recorded in summer 2021 after just a day of rehearsals, the first time the band had gathered together in person for more than a year
It’s clear from the start that guitarists and Harry Hoskins and Callan Milward have made a new musical discovery that’s ever present throughout the new record. The distortion pedal hinted at in tracks like ‘Arteries’ on Be A Cynic has been fully divulged, making Never Better edge closer to psych rock. ‘Hangar’ immediately sets the tone here, reminiscent of Cage The Elephant with the soaring solos echoing against rumbling down-tuned riffs. ‘Pity Lines’ shares a similar sound but with more pop punk tropes like bouncing choruses and lyrical hooks that will be anthemic at future live shows, something Weatherstate are already renowned for.
The journey begins with an atmospheric opening and interweaving guitars that quickly reach their crescendo into a hard-hitting verse. The band are unrelenting in showcasing their ability to expertly weave between styles of playing – from melodic choruses and solos to heavy, growled, syncopated verse sections. It is this versatility that, perhaps, has contributed to the band’s longevity.
They might be tagged as “death metal” but describing Mass Worship solely as that does them a great disservice. Their self-titled debut showcased a blend of doom, sludge, black and death metal with a hint of hardcore to it. Second album Portal Tombs doubles down on this, expanding on atmosphere, finding new ways to work in flourishes of melody and balance it against a sense of desolation and despair.
Portal Tombs is not a happy album; its sole aim seems to be to choke all happiness from the world. It’s suffocating and oppressively bleak in tone and outlook, refusing to acknowledge even a sliver of hope. ‘Specular Void’ opens the album with grinding guitar and bellowing vocals that exude nothing but misanthropy. It trades in hardcore sludge and death metal, delivering batterings flecked with traces of Neurosis in its punishing heaviness. The title track descends into death metal chaos, double bass drums pulverising ears and vertebrae alike before offering breathing space that’s just as bleak with ominous lines of melody.
Never ones to mince their words, Venom Prison are notorious for getting straight to the point, so it’s a little out of character to find Erebos opens with an intro track. ‘Born From Chaos’ sees frontwoman Larissa Stupar repeating the words over and over in varying vocal styles, a hint at what’s to come. The phrase itself simultaneously pointing to current events and how and when the album was created.
Taken at face value it would be all too easy to mistake this as a concept album steeped in Gods and deities, but listen carefully – concealed beneath the ancient iconography are some of Stupar’s most perturbed, blunt and poetic lyrics to date. From the description of the dehumanisation of immigrants on ‘Comfort of Complicity’ to the frankly brutal and harrowing lyrics of ‘Gorgon Sisters’, a song detailing the heinous act of forced sterilisation of women. Utterly relentless, Venom Prison aim for the jugular and land a direct hit.
