Album: Disappearer - "The Clearing"

Forming from the ashes of There Were Wires and featuring a current member of Doomriders, I like this a whole lot more than both those bands. Disappearer started off as a pretty competent instrumental band not unlike Pelican, but on their first full-length they kicked it up to the next level with the addition of vocals and a whole lot of rocking. Even though the band is still firmly rooted within the atmospheric sludge genre, they just feel really fresh. Theres definitely a lot more of a focus on rocking and huge riffs than meandering around with build-ups.

Goddamn, this band really knows how to write a song though. Everything flows seemlessly, melody weaves around perfectly, and the riffs are just so catchy and memorable that I had to do a double-take when I realised that “Etched,” “Obsidian,” and “Vein Harvest" don't even have vocals. Everything sounds HUGE and crystal clear thanks to producer Kurt Ballou as well. For real. This was one of my favorite things to come out last year and it was stuck in my head for days after I heard it. Check it out here and order from the always excellent Magic Bullet.
1. A Skull Full of Bats
2. Dissolve
3. Villainous Moon
4. Etched
5. Glassland
6. Obsidian
7. Nausea
8. Nine Hearts
9. Vein Harvest
10. The Clearing
DL: "The Clearing"