Acathexis – Immerse (Amor Fati/Extraconscious Records)
Acathexis’ self-titled debut from 2018 is one that still bears repeated listens, personally, many years later. With some of the best known and hardest working musicians within black metal behind the band, it was always clear that this is a band to watch. Featuring Jacob Buczarski, Déhà and Dany Tee (each with a list of credits and bands to their name), Acathexis were already ahead of the game when they dropped their first album and with Immerse they have stepped up even further with the album a lesson in intense despair and exquisite pain. During "Dreams of Scorched Mirrors" Dany’s vocals hit hard as his high shrieks peak with tangible anguish while his lows creep in the dark spaces left behind, feeding on the torment that is found there.
The songs on Immerse push the boundaries of time and sadness with lyrics that flow with the most abject misery that can be conjured by the human mind. Futility and loss scar the landscape that Buczarski and Déhà create with their instrumentation, the guitars soaring gracefully across radiant suffering while the drums drive the songs ever onwards without pause. There is a distinct motion to be found here, a dynamic presence that moves the album closer to its goal and the ultimate truth of existence. The hunt for answers as to why are we here, when life is nothing but disappointment and pain.
“The Other” seeks solutions for the loss of the self and the finale of “A Slow, Weary Wind” takes Acathexis further into the pitch black depths of the soul that is lost to time before coming to the realisation that, at the end of it all, we will become as one with the earth once more. This never-ending cycle is one that cannot be stopped and the terrifying certainty at the core of Immerse is that no matter how much we push and pull ourselves into the shape of what we think others expect of us, we will always return to the fabric of the universe as building blocks for the stars and the next cycle of grief.
Pelican – Adrift/Tending The Embers (Independent)
It’s been a little quiet on the Pelican front since their 2019 release Nighttime Stories, however, the band have been working behind the scenes on new music after welcoming original member Laurent Schroeder-Lebec back on guitar a couple of years ago. With the lineup refresh also brings an attitude refresh and the band have been refining their instrumental approach since. Adrift/Tending The Embers is an EP that came through the writing process for an upcoming album and, as Pelican have been raring to go, they dropped this two-track release as a surprise at the beginning of March.
And it’s lovely. It sounds vital and reenergised, the darkness of their previous album being left behind as the band head into the light finally. “Adrift” weaves its fabric with Americana influences in the guitars while “Tending The Embers” is a deeper composition that aims to remind us that just as the fire needs feeding in order to grow, so does art. Pelican are a long-standing member of the heavy music community and its clear from this EP that they still have much more to say with their music and in order to do so, they must change and evolve as time passes. Damn, it’s all very introspective around here.
Persher – Sleep Well (Thrill Jockey)
I’m not going to pretend that I know very much about the two electronic/dance artists behind the Persher name. I like electronic music, but it’s not within my realm of “feeling like I know enough to be confident to write about it.” That being said, I know heavy music and Persher’s Sleep Well is fucking heavy, guys. Arthur Cayzer (Pariah) and Jamie Roberts (Blawan) take what they know about creating and producing dance sounds and apply it to a genre they both love deeply. What results is an album of hard, heavy tones that accumulate into a transfixing and bonkers, sludgy festival of noise. Synthesised drums are reminiscent of punk and hardcore while the live guitars and bass punch proverbial holes through the genre walls as Cayzer and Roberts blast their way out of any semblance of structure.
For the most part, songs are short and snappy with tongue-in-cheek titles and a ravenous thirst for finding the most disgusting tones possible. “Elemental Stoppage” writhes with pure filth while “Medieval Soup from the Milkbar” is a revolting journey through a particularly bad meal. The less asked, the better, in my opinion. Roberts’ vocals are harsh and grinding, the hoarse roars adding layers of uncomfortable sound to an already grimy atmosphere. Sleep Well writhes in the blurred lines between the metal and electronic genres. In doing so, they are creating the kind of industrial-led stomp that imbues the listener with the inability to stay still while experiencing it.
There is a distinct lack of silence on this album and Persher are quite happy to push the limits in every way possible. “Hymn to the Tupperbird” is as weird as the title suggests as Roberts’ disturbingly deep voice pulses with sly intent, hiding itself behind gigantic beats and creeping out when needed and just when you think you might be getting a handle on the album, “Portable Aquarium” jumps out with the strangest little bridge before the chorus. Apparently it’s about a herbal tea. I wouldn’t want it either. I want more of Persher, though.
