Review / 200 Words Or Less
Litany for the Whale
Dolores

Teenage Disco Bloodbath/Perpetual Motion Machine/Molsook (2009) Michael

Litany for the Whale – Dolores cover artwork
Litany for the Whale – Dolores — Teenage Disco Bloodbath/Perpetual Motion Machine/Molsook, 2009

John Cage was an avant-garde composer, poet, music theorist, artist, printmaker, etc. that was popular in the early part of the 20th century. "Litany for the Whale" was one of his many compositions. While I'm not certain this is where they draw their namesake from, California's Litany for the Whale offer up atmospheric, noisy, hardcore that pushes the limits of "hardcore" on their debut EP, Dolores.

The seven songs that comprise this EP are dark metallic hardcore that draw from the inventiveness of Converge mixed with d-beat punk of His Hero is Gone, all interspersed with various noise elements. "A Wake" and "Lord of the Gallows" are volatile hardcore akin to Cursed, meanwhile "Die Alone Unloved" and "Rotting on the Shoreline" are more loose and drone-oriented - see Buried Inside, Cult of Luna. And then there are "Philistines," a two-minute acoustic interlude, and closer "Lonesome God," which incorporates post-rock guitar noodling.

Dolores is a solid debut EP from Litany for the Whale. The instrumentals work well in the context of the album, but I definitely would have preferred more songs as opposed to the filler. I'll be keeping tabs on them as I'm definitely looking forward to their next offering.

8.0 / 10Michael • December 10, 2009

Litany for the Whale – Dolores cover artwork
Litany for the Whale – Dolores — Teenage Disco Bloodbath/Perpetual Motion Machine/Molsook, 2009

Related news

Litany For The Whale Pre-Orders Launched

Posted in Records on June 17, 2009

Recently-posted album reviews

Sexfaces

Bad Vibes OST
Slovenly (2025)

Best thing about writing reviews is finding out about new stuff that I otherwise might not have heard. Also writing reviews for bands that aren’t friends of mine is pretty cool but when I hear a band I really like, like Sex Faces, it makes me want to be friends with them, I can't help it! I’m not even halfway … Read more

Unseemlier

I Have A Screw Loose, Somewhere
Sell The Heart Records (2025)

What does Unseemlier sound like? I've been mulling that question as I listen to I Have A Screw Loose, Somewhere for a while now. As I listen to more and more Sell The Heart releases, The band is from Boston, but seemingly influenced by late '80s DC. It's heavy, but more with hardcore-like vocals shouted over moving, building guitars and … Read more

Personality Cult

Dilated
Dirtnap (2025)

I had a hard time starting this review. I can’t help coming back to the fact that it sounds like Marked Men. It does, maybe intentionally so, as Dilated is the second of Personality Cult’s albums that is produced by Jeff Burke of Marked Men and Radioactivity. But I don’t necessarily like to say a band sounds like another band … Read more