Enablers - End Note - LP (2006)

Labels: Midmarch
Review by: Alex Deller

Spoken word vocals seem to be rarely done these days, and all too often fall short of the miracle they can hold. The Enablers are more than up to the challenge, so if I mention the likes of Slint or Rodan don’t be put off by the innumerable chinless mooks who’ve successfully tormented that particular style to the brink of worthlessness. End Note winds and whirs with bruised beauty, expertly setting the scene for Pete Simonelli’s vocals, a stream of urgent prose that’s less about carrying a tune than telling a tale, weaving his worldly stories like some old timer imparting folk wisdom from a barstool. Songs are built from humble beginnings into towering pillars of white rage with such fluid grace that their visceral, uncaged fury catches you by surprise each time it erupts, a fearsome yet exhilarating experience akin to being caught outside whilst some terrifying natural disaster rages above or below you.