ENDLESS, NAMELESS – LIVING WITHOUT Touchstones of black metal, mathcore, post-punk and shoegaze flow all across this album in entrancing interplay with each other in every track. What is most striking is how there is a raw vitality and intimacy inherent to the songs that draw you in like an incredibly personal, bedroom recorded folk song. “A World So Kind” has the cascading guitar arpeggios that only the most nerdy of guitar wizards can execute reliably. But in the middle of the song there is a moment of tranquil ambient soundscaping that feels like one’s heart expanding to fit in more of the world that you knew you had room for. Even when Endless, Nameless careen into aggressive and seemingly clashing dynamics, there is an unmistakable vulnerability to the way the songs seem crafted that renders music that might be opaque to some people open and accessible. What makes Endless, Nameless special is how its hybrid style invites the listener in on the band’s own journey of self-discovery and evolution beyond a conditioned rigidity of feeling and spirit to something more tender and curious, and that is what you hear throughout this set of songs. KILL YOUR DARLINGS – VESTIGIAL HEARTS Brett Darling should be remembered for art rock band Slow Crash, dance synth punk phenoms Pep*Squad, noise project Pulled at Four Pins or avant-pop group Stella Luce. Yet it all seems like a preparation for darkwave duo kill your darlings with his wife Jayme. There’s something gloriously unvarnished and unabashed about the noisy synths under and over menacing melodies and what sounds like drum machines combined with physical utility percussion in the mix here, like it was all done purely for fun without any pressure to adhere to genre tropes. The vocal processing could be like something out of early 2000s EBM with the sound overall like a future pop band that didn’t take itself too seriously, but ended up writing songs that have an emotional heft and sharp social commentary. Think a surprisingly cool soundtrack to some late 80s or early 90s cyberpunk film where the music has more of a cult following than the movie. Fans of Velvet Acid Christ and Skinny Puppy’s more pop end will appreciate this best. DEREK KNIERIM, CONSUME
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