This is cool: tight, anguished post-hardcore that’s constantly threatening to boil over. I decided to give it a whirl since there was a comparison to Kowloon Walled City in the press sheet, and that’s definitely on point since there’s a sense that said band were maybe caught part-way between the crash of ‘Container Ships’ and the pared-down bleakness of ‘Grievances’. The driving, rending noise-rock elements are extremely satisfying, and when the band are punching those buttons I get to thinking they’d sit nicely on the Solar Flare (RIP?) roster alongside the likes of Pigs, Sofy Major and The Great Sabatini. Even more interesting, though, are the more spacious moments. Here the band open things up and let the tension spool out, guitar parts subdividing to the point of vanishing and vocals coming hissed through gritted teeth, while the occasional sax makes me think of that recent (and also very excellent) Chimes Of Bayonets album. The track ‘Mountains Of Labor’ is perhaps my favourite here: it makes me think of Kerosene 454 having a serious go at Threadbare’s ‘Relocation Policy’ – an admittedly niche but ultimately very tasty prospect that rather sums why I dig this album so much.
