REVIEW: King Woman – “Created In The Image Of Suffering”

kwcitios

It’s hard to believe that Created In The Image Of Suffering is technically the debut full length from King Woman. The evolution from a solo project of Kristina Esfandiari to full band has really only happened over the course of two singles and an EP. The version of King Woman here sounds very far removed from the version that recorded the Degrida single back in 2013. While the earlier releases were definitive King Woman songs, there seemed to be a lot of overlap with what Esfandiari doing in Miserable. The sound was a little darker, but still similar. King Woman evolving into an actual band with other full time members really solidified it as something different. 2015’s Doubt was the turning point. It was evolution.

Created In The Image Of Suffering is a document of that evolution and musical growth. It’s also a perfect example of how King Woman defies genre classification. It has elements of metal, doom, shoegaze, and drone. In a lot of ways it is all of, and none of, those genres. It might piss off some purists, but must be acknowledged. The end result is a sound that is beautifully varied. The band has the chops to be dark and heavy, but they also have the restraint to be light and airy. The guitars can go from melodic and soft to just fucking riffing. Created In The Image Of Suffering is a split of power and vulnerability, not that those things are mutually exclusive. Everything is tied together by Kristina Esfandiari’s vocals. Mysterious and ethereal, but also fucking powerful.

These songs are clearly the result of a very complicated life and history. They are very dense and very cathartic. The biggest mistake is to assume this record is just some angry, brooding thing. There are songs on Created In The Image Of Suffering about the abuse Esfandiari received while in the church, but there are also songs about unrequited love. It is Esfandiari as a songwriter just putting it all out on the record. The tone feels like it might skew one way, but there is so much more happening.

I’ve talked about King Woman and Miserable before on here. Esfandiari is easily one of my favorite artists going right now. Created In The Image Of Suffering has built on everything she’s done before, and is an A+ addition to an already fantastic discography.

King Woman
Relapse Records
Bandcamp
Buy It

REVIEW: Cloak Of Organs – “Cloak Of Organs”

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I can’t make heads or tails of post-genres sometimes. It gets especially troublesome when talking about a band like Cloak Of Organs. They could comfortably be listed under whatever post- genre tag you could rattle off. Post-metal, post-hardcore, post-punk, post-whatever.

Fuck it. Cloak Of Organs is a band that is not beholden to a specific scene or genre. They make music that is very melodic and airy in some places, but also very heavy in others. They’re self titled EP is the kind of record that would be at home in a metal collection as much as a shoegaze collection. It is an example of crafting atmosphere and texture.

The music is slow and brooding, and the vocals hit all the right “ethereal” hallmarks. This record sounds great in all aspects, musically and vocally. But, y’know, of course it does. This band is made up of Denver music veterans, and the combined experience means great things. The Nervous, Wovenhand, Planes Mistaken for Stars, and Slim Cessna’s Auto Club are all represented.

This is the perfect kind of record for fall. The music and the lyrical content both skew towards more dark topics. There are themes of body horror. There are themes of desolation. It’s not necessarily a “fun” record, but it sure is a great one. It’s definitely a great fall release.

Cloak Of Organs
Bandcamp / Buy It

REVIEW: Sloths – “Twenty Years”

slothstwentyyears I feel a bit like a broken record sometimes. I constantly bring up home much I hate throwing bands into genres, but then spend much of every review talking about what genre a band is. It feels a bit disingenuous to me. Sloths, for example, are very definitely a number of things. To pigeonhole them as one thing or the other seems like bullshit.

Sloths are rooted very strongly in heavy music. There is guitar that can jump from swirling, to melodic, to driving, to almost noise. The bass is riffing rather than just a generic, supporting bassline. Both are distorted and raw. The drums throw some d-beats and blast beats into the fold, but also keep things very tight. The vocals are fucking growling. They’re that kind of vocal that just adds to the shredding, jagged nature of the music. It’s hardcore and metal, both the traditional and the “post-” variations. It still has a strong sense of melody as well. It’s a lot at once, and it all adds up to a very engaging band and record.

And, ultimately, that is what we’re here to talk about. Twenty Years is a beast of an EP. These are three songs that get shredded through in about 13 minutes. They are far more than the sum of their parts though. To give a song number/record length analysis wouldn’t be fair. It’s not fair because this EP is difficult in a lot of ways. It’s a dark record, both in topic and tone. The record is about the death of a friend, and the aftermath if it. The subject of dying young is always a difficult topic to write about and listen to. It’s not entirely bleak though. Eventually there is a small bit of acceptance and perspective.

It’s the two sides of things that make this record engaging as a piece of music, and as an piece of expression in general. The music gets fucking heavy. It gets raw. It also gets melodic and light in some places. That dark and light combination is also there lyrically in a certain degree as well. Sloths have, on Twenty Years, made an EP that is entirely cohesive from front to back. The words, the music, and everything. It’s one of those records that is one entire piece, rather than small pieces thrown together.

Sloths
BandCamp

The Ghost Is Clear Records
Don’t Live Like Me Records
Illuminasty Records

**This is digital only at this time. Physical pre-orders should go up this month**

REVIEW: Tyranny Is Tyranny – “Let It Come From Whom It May”

tyrannyistyranny You kind of know what you’re getting into when a band’s name (and their record title) are both derived from a Howard Zinn quote. You know that it is either going to be rooted in a socialist or anarchist ideal. It is definitely going to be on some political shit. It’s interesting to see how a band like Tyranny Is Tyranny will handle it.

A million punk rock bands have tried before them, and the lyrics almost always ready as bland sloganeering. And that is at best. And the music is almost always some bullshit anarcho-punk or hardcore thing. That is what makes Tyranny Is Tyranny so interesting, and what makes Let It Come From Whom It May engaging. They are a band who is political in a broad sense. They aren’t cherry picking hot topic issues. The lyrics go beyond generic “fuck this, fuck that” political punk. But songs like “The American Dream Is A Lie” pretty much explains what the band is on about. It exactly what it says in the title, while also touching on the idea that society is set up to hold back any actual change. Generally through the cycle of work/pacification and exhaustion/political inactivity. It addresses the idea that people in power will always win if you make excuses as to why you don’t fight.

Destruction and exploitation of the majority/working class is touched on in “Always Stockholm, Never Lima.” The message of that song is very blunt, especially with lines like

“On the back of a nation
The few build their wealth
The debased sell themselves
Law arrives by stealth“

Musically, Let It Come From Whom It May is kind of a grab bag of post- genres, with touches of metal and noise. It’s got post-rock influence, but is heavier and more riffed based. Definitely less “cinematic” or whatever in scope than that genre tends to be. More than anything though, it plays as a more post-hardcore type record. It’s more riff based in some places, like on “Manufacturing Truth.” It can get more delicate and melodic in certain places, like on “Owned By Thieves.” The songs range anywhere from around four minutes to damn near eight. Tyranny Is Tyranny is willing to widen the scope of what they do to get their point across.

While the ideas and lyrics can be very on the nose, Tyranny Is Tyranny bring up points that should be considered, especially in a world where political activism often falls by the wayside. Hell, if nothing else, it’s interesting to listen to the record if only for an introduction to certain Socialist ideas. I’d say it is worth your time.

Tyranny is Tyranny
Phratry Records
BandCamp
Buy It