Labels: Solar Flare
Review by: Alex Deller
There’s no other way to start this review other than by saying this LP is ridiculously good. It’s a honking great thing that dollops together grunge, noise-rock and the more jagged end of hardcore in a manner that’s constantly surprising and yet perfectly cohesive. Take opener ‘Fendi Bender’ or the masterful, piano-riven ‘Klosstrophobia’, for instance. One moment we have vast, clangorous chords sending cruel splinters into our skulls, the next there are gloomy Cobain-esque melodies and then some hoarse, bone-scraping screams that’ll see your shoulder muscles tightening reflexively. These elements slip and slop over each other as the album’s eight tracks progress, Fashion Week crawling between vast Unsane-esque riffs that protrude at odd angles, tricksy moments reminiscent of Craw and the kind of gluey, slightly-off melodies that bring to mind Shellac, Handsome or The Austerity Program. The results are both savage and compelling, making ‘Prêt-à -Porter’ a vicious and variegated album that combines crippling heaviness with memorable songwriting and a knack for the dramatic that’s all too rarely seen. It’s superb, basically.