Noise Rock

Treedeon – New World Hoarder Review

Treedeon – New World Hoarder Review

Treedeon is a trio based in Berlin, having released two full-lengths since their inception in 2013. Consisting of former Ulme vocalist Arne Heesch, ex-Jingo de Lunch vocalist Yvonne Ducksworth, and drummer Andy Schünemann, Treedeon is a disciple of the NOLA sludge scene, with a filthy and caustic breed that recalls Eyehategod’s ten-ton blues and a density that conjures Thou.” If a tree falls in sludge, does it make an abrasive noise?

KEN mode – NULL Review

KEN mode – NULL Review

“No, this album has nothing to do with our favorite sponge friend. Yes, this album has everything to do with FOUR angry Canadians now that KEN mode has promoted Kathryn Kerr, a one-woman wrecking ball of saxophone, synth, and piano prowess, previously guest-credited on 2018’s Loved. Did you think that KEN mode would go full saxcore after that experimental sludgeball? Well, I bet your 2022 bingo card is all kinds of fucked up at this point, so let’s make this one easy: KEN mode—or more accurately, primary bleeding heart Jesse Matthewson—hated the past couple years and it shows.” No dream house for you!

Chat Pile – God’s Country Review

Chat Pile – God’s Country Review

“Hopelessness is both a universal and local phenomenon. It’s always the same handful of pressures that cause it; resource inaccessibility, environmental/health factors, power held by the unscrupulous, etc, but every place has its own particular aesthetic of hopelessness. Despondency in, say, Guangzhou, China will look, sound and feel different than it does in the American Midwest. Sludge/Noise band Chat Pile call their debut album God’s Country “Oklahoma’s specific brand of misery,” and indeed their name itself comes from the piles of toxic waste, left over from an unregulated lead and zinc extraction industry, poisoning towns in the Sooner State.” American nightmares.

Wailin Storms – The Silver Snake Unfolds Review

Wailin Storms – The Silver Snake Unfolds Review

“I liked a lot about Wailin Storms’ 2020 album Rattle. Reading back over my review, I mention doom metal, post-hardcore, the High Lonesome Sound, haunted hollers and swamps and David Eugene Edwards. I called it “fire-and-brimstone snake-handling speaking in tongues nightmare music,” and friends, that’s practically my erogenous zone. The major issue with Rattle was a dearth of compositional ideas. Still, they’re one of the few gothic Americana acts out there with a metal heart, so I had high hopes for any potential follow up.” No steppy on snake.

Pyrithe – Monuments to Impermanence Review

Pyrithe – Monuments to Impermanence Review

“Cover art can be misleading, but here it’s a clue. Reflecting that twisted marine merging of human and coral, Pyrithe’s sound is chaos, artfully displayed. To their sludgy post-metal concoction, they add the use of coconuts, egg-shakers, kantele, and literal trash as musical elements. They also favor a disjointed, dissonant approach to songwriting, taking a leaf out of the more experimental edges of death metal, and beyond. In fact, they’ve even roped in Doug Moore of Pyrrhon and Seputus, the influence of which acts is quite evident. It’s heavy, it’s multifaceted, it’s a tiny bit mad, but is it any good?” Permanence and impetuousness.

Heavy Meta – Mana Regmata Review

Heavy Meta – Mana Regmata Review

“Don’t get your hopes up, ye of heavy metal’s golden years. Heavy Meta is nearly everything you hate about today’s extreme music. Mathcore, black metal, noise rock, and prog all have a hand in this monstrosity, and if there is an inkling of distaste for any of these styles, Mana Regmata might need to come with a side of aspirin. Featuring a tongue-in-cheek moniker that you could proudly proclaim at any party, it’s a group that only jokingly defines itself as “blackened progressive cowboy nintendocore.”” Meta health.

Gloop – Crayon Sun Review

Gloop – Crayon Sun Review

Gloop is a trio from West Virginia but currently based in Baltimore, having released two full-lengths since 2017. A truly disconcerting brew of noise rock by way of no-wave with a healthy dose of bluesy rock and upbeat punk, Crayon Sun takes Gloop to darker depths with in-your-face dissonance, angular riffs, and a defiant punk attitude. A shapeshifting beast both apathetic, frenetic, and abrasive.” The Glooper.

Lower Automation – Lower Automation Review

Lower Automation – Lower Automation Review

“Noise-rock and mathcore haters need not listen to . The rest of you do. Lower Automation play a boisterous screamo-grind like you’d get from SeeYouSpaceCowboy boiling with hyperactive bass lines and pedal-board lust. What they excel at are antics: guitar parts that chirp at the very peak of the fretboard, stick-clicking percussion breaks, and bouts of sardonic wailing. If Daughters had gone through a severe Mr. Bungle binge when writing Canada Songs, Lower Automation would be a much less original record. But as it is, the Chicago three piece’s debut LP is one of the year’s most unpredictable and unique releases.” Full auto.