The weather has taken quite a turn around me with winds speeding by as the rain angles off in a variety of directions. I thought there were rumblings coming from outside as well but then quickly realized the thundering wasn’t coming from out there but from inside my headphones. Was I Good Enough? is the collaborative effort between Rhode Island’s The Body and Toronto’s Intensive Care. Alone, each set of duos delivers sonic structures in sound powerful enough to rival the gods of old, and now together? Well, let’s say they’ve doubled their chances of overtaking them. Everything throughout the release seems to be an exercise in harshness but it’s not without directional functionality as there are serious melodies strewn across each of the eight tracks here. The group lords over each track, droning at times, howling at the moon at others, and sometimes doing it all at the same time. All the while, the band is disciplined enough to know where everything should and needs to go. The 10-minute plus “Mandelbrot Anamnesis” has the group drawing out everything its capable of, scaping at the walls of reality, tearing through the fabric of time itself. I’m here for the chaos.

YOUNG WIDOWS – POWER SUCKER

Stumped with questions, but we’ve seen a revival of some outfits throughout the past few years, bands no one ever thought we’d see playing, let alone recording again after a lengthy stint away from smokey stages and loud amplifiers. But it’s happened. Archers of Loaf, Jesus Lizard, and several others have released material although we’ve all thought of these older groups as remnants of the past.   

The lesser-known Young Widows released four albums, its last, Easy Pain, dropped back in 2014 which almost seems like a lifetime ago. Now eleven years later(!) the post-punk group shares its new offering Power Sucker (Temporary Residence LTD).  The rhythm-heavy trio of guitarist Evan Patterson, bassist Nick Thieneman, and drummer Jeremy McMonigle, are back with a youthful and sonically dense album that, while it can peel paint off walls, comes with a melodicism throughout that’s at times both captivating and invigorating. At just about any possible moment these Widows never let up, occasionally increasing the volume but not just for volume’s sake, the band is expressive with its guitars creating a kaleidoscope of sound with its low-end theory completely engulfing everything around it. That’s how “Exit Slowly” begins, quiets down, and returns with chilling guitars. Literally speaking, there’s never a dull moment here. Even with the album’s opener, “The Darkest Side,” the band lures us in with its creepy squealing door closing, which also sounds like horns right before the group explodes with a barrage of repetitive chords. Both Patterson and Thieneman share vocal duties but when they hit the harmonies over guitars, bass, and drums, it’s alluring to the senses.

Like I mentioned previously, the band never slows down, even when you think they might and on the title track they might channel that speed into the sheer power that envelops the song itself. The band is masterfully poised over their respective instruments creating the bliss everyone enjoys. But it’s “Turned Out Alright” that captures the attention as the band works in darker tones throughout and is relatable for the aging adults holding onto their memories within their youthful minds. When the band sings “Turned out alright for a punk rock kid,” we understand because we were all that punk rock kid at some point in our lives. We proved those boomers different. Yeah, this might just be my new anthem. It’s the bass-heavy “Take Get Lost” that might have you stumbling around stupefied because in those brief rhythm pauses is when you can hear the eloquence between the vocals & distant guitars singing together in unison. It’s clever and musically sound all around. Then again, everything is sound all around, the driving “A Life In Tow” is unrelenting with its wall of guitars surrounding the rhythm while “Hotel Of Crows” takes a different approach allowing the track to build around the same guitars. The track seems darker than most here, both lyrically and musically which seems to be fitting. Crows after all carry souls to the land of the dead as some might believe.

Oh, the return of these Young Widows is refreshing, with Power Sucker delivering a commanding amount of authority through its music. But it also seems the trio has found a fountain of youth and dipped their respective instruments in there. I could go on but honestly, there’s no hiding the talent within the band itself.

CLIPPING – DEAD CHANNEL SKY

Throwing up arms announcing one’s arrival is nothing new, and occasionally it’s in a quick animated motion, never leaving any doubt that the arrival was well warranted. You begin to wonder if they’ve all missed your appearance the first, second, third, or even fourth time because there should be more of a welcoming. Well, it’s time to be boisterously unencumbered, making sure everyone takes heed!

Dead Channel Sky (Sub Pop) is the fifth album by the Los Angeles art-rap outfit Clipping, which is comprised of producers William Hutson & Jonathan Snipes and emcee Daveed Diggs. While I’m sure people use the “art-rap” subgenre loosely, I can say with certainty that Clipping falls under the electronic and dance umbrellas as well which allows the group crossover accessibility. Much like groups like Antipop Consortium, Outkast, dälek and the like, it can’t be pigeonholed into being just one thing. Don’t misunderstand though, this isn’t a mesh of found sounds attempting to make sense of it all, there’s a method to the madness.

The opening “Intro” pieces together what sounds like a quick 90s Matrix soundbite that was never created, fully entwined with dial-up internet sounds & static with Diggs offering quick-tongued prose right over it. It sets the tone and “Dominator” quickly takes off with its quick-paced rhythm that seems to build or crescendo but there is no real dynamic shift until more than halfway through when that beat finally drops. The music: infectious led by a few keyboard notes with percussion swirling around it. Diggs flow: inviting although I can’t make sense of it all; words crossing over one another which makes it fascinating! The phrases I am capable of making out like, “Cool enough to rock the metal skin like it was natural” leave me intrigued. Is big brother watching? Is technology surpassing our own intelligence? There’s a lot going on here but like me, I’m sure you’ll find yourself riding the wave of words & phrasing as the music crashes all around us.

It doesn’t get any easier with “Change The Channel,” moving at the speed of industrial-like metal sans guitar interplay. Yeah, I’m actually expecting an Al Jourgensen remix filled with walls of guitar strewn across it. Yes, it’s completely imaginable. All this and we haven’t even gotten past the third track! There are moments on the album the group works with The computer music collective Bitpanic out of L.A. That’s on “Simple Degradation (Plucks 1-13)” and “Simple Degradation (Plucks 14-18).” Bitpanic is improvisational and works together with “networked compositional systems.” It’s all experimental, digital sounds pieced together as we return back to the matrix. There are a number of other guests as well with Nels Cline providing his innovative guitar antics on the instrumental “Malleus” which underlaid by a programmed rhythm while the laidback “Scams” features Oakland emcee Tia Nomore. The “Beat stay knocking in the back” are words you’ll find yourself repeating over and over again as the heavy beat drives the track. The melody around the track seems to have been developed by Diggs’ cadence and Nomore simply rides that same wave. Knock-knock motherfucker. But yeah, Diggs is the rapper you won’t be able to get enough of as “Keep Pushing,” shoves its way to the forefront. Here everything falls right into place. Hutson & Snipes create one of the more memorable beats here but what’s striking every time is what I imagine is the ocean caressing the shore in the distance and Diggs of course works his magic. But it’s “Mirrorshades pt. 2” that might throw you off. Featuring the Canadian Hip Hop duo Cartel Madras, and sisters Eboshi & Contra add a sultry vibe to the songs House energy. Yeah, with Clippings, you just never know what you’re going to get!

One thing that doesn’t sit well with me it the fact that Clippings isn’t a household name, which of course they should be. The group plays in a variety of musical backyards and while they may not always be recognizable, who gives a fuck? Dead Channel Sky is insanely good and just levels the playing field. It’s everyone else’s move now.