AUGUST SHOUT-OUTS VOL. II: SUNBLEACHED, ENUMCLAW, WORN OUT
Sunbleached-I Crawled Into the Hole
I’ll echo my high praise for German "grungegaze" outfit Poppy Wizard here for Brisbane, Australia’s Sunbleached, a band that are sonic kindred spirits, albeit one that hews a little more closely to the cohort of bands like Touché Amoré and Troubled Coast. This five-song EP takes us from the sun-dappled yet bittersweet territory of the first two songs in "No Cure for Life" and "White Lace" to the Poppy Wizard-esque Nirvana-meets-shoegaze with a bite on "Beware of the Dog." This track marks more of an overtly anguished atmosphere, sprinkling in a little "core," which figures most prominently on the EP closer "Hell Is Repetition." It’s very strong work that shows range both aural and emotional.
Enumclaw-Home In Another Life
We next travel to Tacoma, Washington to visit Enumclaw, another band that mines the sonic territory of emo, but unlike Sunbleached, where the influence is one of several others that underpin the band’s shoegaze primacy, here the emo—albeit emo in flannel—is preeminent. I wasn’t necessarily going for a shoegaze theme over my August Shout-Outs, but there did seem to be several excellent shoegaze-centric releases that came out this past month (and, though their EP released in May, I also interviewed Manchester, England’s Deathbloom in early August as well!). Indeed, even here on Home In Another Life one can hear the ghost of shoegaze at the end of "Sink," and as with Poppy Wizard and Sunbleached, there is a clear incorporation of grunge and 90s alternative rock. There are even a couple moments in "Haven’t Seen the Family in a While, I’m Sorry" that vaguely recall Chris Isaak’s "Wicked Game," but overall jangly, deliberately difficult emo is the name of the game here. Further, the vocals are very unusual, almost like a Lou Reed-ian approach to the band’s Reality Bites-type emo. It’s a challenging record in a lot of ways, and like the nutrient-rich multivitamin it doesn’t necessarily go down easily, but what’s good for you isn’t always easy or pleasant, is it?
Worn Out-Low
Lastly we come to Irish metalcore/metallic hardcore stalwarts Worn Out and their relentless four-song EP that sounds like the love child of The Bled and Burnt By the Sun.
The sonic equivalent of a nervous breakdown in action, Low is infused with the intensity and unbridled passion that made me fall in love with heavy music in the first place. It is in many ways a conscious rejection of the polished brand of metalcore that has come to predominate the scene in recent years, and while I’m a noted fan of that variety as well, it is in danger of becoming much like the Risecore days of the early 2010s in terms of an oversaturation of over-similarity. Low, however, feels like it should’ve come out in 2009, and as any consistent readers and/or viewers know, that is about as high a compliment I can pay a metalcore or hardcore band. While adjectives like "feral" best describe the EP’s contents, there is also plenty of groove to sink your teeth into amidst the chaos. Really impressive work by these guys.
You can also check out my interview with the band here.