This album will be grossly misunderstood, yet somehow understandably. It’s a challenging record to say the least - one that requires work and perseverance - yet while an undeniable challenge, it’s a rewarding one.
The album is a continuous flotation between the experimental and twisted melodic pop, at times evoking the surreptitious funk of Ariel Pink’s last record. While there isn’t huge room for musical comparisons, due to its idiosyncrasies, my first would be to greatly missed Sheffield glam-punk band Pink Grease - then you read the liner notes to discover it was produced by Steven Santa Cruz, one of the brains within said band, which perhaps goes someway to explaining that.
The tempos are erratic and spontaneous, making the listening experience as jarring as it can be enticing. The styles the record touches upon are plentiful to say the least, from the screaming, metal-like ‘Bertie Lean’ to the evocative, slowcore ‘Playing In The Dark’. It’s a record that simultaneously nods to the band’s collective influences while creating a unique sound in the process. It’s snotty and bratty in parts, restrained and soulful in others.
One element that comes to light through the record is how difficult it must have been to make. The time signatures are so obscure they are almost non-existent. Some songs are like the big twisted metal mess of a car wreck, only slightly resembling their original incarnations. However, while some may view this simply as a car crash in order to appreciate it, you have to look into the original engineering of building the car in the first place. The album is an intricate and meticulous construction of parts that results in a finely tuned if unpredictable machine.
This will simply be too weird for some people, likely causing a great deal of anger and strife to many listeners, however the band appear content in their experiments. While it may appear seemingly unhinged as a record, this is an album that knows exactly what it’s doing.
If still you find yourself banging your head against the proverbial brick wall and nothing still makes sense, just remember: D is for W.