A Wilhelm Scream
Cheap Heat
A quandary with these turn-of-the-millennium punks immune to rust is whether their new stuff is actually that good. Like, a new Hot Water Music album will sound the same as the preceding however-many, but how does it stack up, really? In the case of A Wilhelm Scream, there’s a bit more to work with here. After nearly a decade off from new material, 2022’s Lose Your Delusion had their usual tricks intact, in a just-fine way. In other words, it’s been a while since A Wilhelm Scream have properly roared out of the traps, leaving Cheap Heat to prove that they’re still very capable of it.
As a baseline, it helps that A Wilhelm Scream have always diverted from your more ‘standard’ alt-punk. Thrash is still in the equation, illustrated in omnipresent galloping tempos and a nimbler performance overall. Within just the first couple of songs, you get some unbelievable bass noodling from Brian J. Robinson on Somebody’s Gonna Die and Midnight Ghost. In the same vein, Fell Off introduces itself with a run of finger-annihilating fretwork that melodic hardcore outside of this band specifically just doesn’t have. Even if we’re deep, deep inside A Wilhelm Scream’s wheelhouse, it’s in immaculate condition.
There’s also an excitement kept prominent on top of all of that, and the customarily evergreen state of the band to leave it unforced. Nuno Pereira growls and gruffs his way across these nonstop ragers, bolstered by perfectly-executed harmonies and a knack for hooks that piles up to mountainous heights on Midnight Ghost. Further, added anger on Scumbag Grift and gravel on Run. never feels like overkill; it’s just the natural progression of this. And with some terrfically quotable lines wedged in there for good measure, it’s like A Wilhelm Scream have meticulously engineered their blinder while keeping the vibe totally natural and freewheeling.
They’re definitely aware of that, too. “I’m the fucking reason Massachusetts’s so great,” rips Pereira on I Got Tunnel Vision; later, Let It Ride dishes out “While you’ve been playing solitaire / I inspire lumineers.” There’s none of that elder-statesman humbleness here; A Wilhelm Scream know they’re sick and they’re happy to flaunt it. Alongside the devil-may-care attitude that Cheap Heat sports so fetchingly, it’s like A Wilhelm Scream know how back they are. This is as fresh, sharp and spirited as ‘old’ punk gets, infinitely enjoyable even this far down the line. Even if that sentiment gets wheeled out on the regular, for A Wilhelm Scream, it’s wholeheartedly deserved.
For fans of: Propagandhi, Death By Stereo, Comeback Kid
‘Cheap Heat’ by A Wilhelm Scream is released on 27th February on Creator-Destructor Records.
The Gloom In The Corner
Royal Discordance
Contrary to what their name implies, this isn’t some group of antisocial sludgoids who’ve weaselled their way onto the Sharptone roster from Southern Lord. No, The Gloom In The Corner are actually one of the more inventive names in current metalcore. That is to say, you’d be hard pressed to find your average chuggers or Bad Omens-alikes describing their new album as “a Shakespearean power struggle mixed with Gangs Of London, Game Of Thrones, and a lot of John Woo-style violence.” It’s nice to say that their boldness isn’t a complete arse-pull, either. Sure, you’re knackered by the end of this slab, but overstimulation is preferable to the psychic damage of sheer mundanity.
Royal Discordance finds its way through entertainment value, as opposed to any higher artistic purpose. With its strings, big, clean hooks and an emphasis on drama at every turn, there’s a blockbuster feel that The Gloom In The Corner want to foster. There’s a lot of meat on here, not necessarily prime cuts but enough to be more than filling. The lack of watered-down heaviness is worthwhile, given that it seldom (if ever) interferes with The Gloom In The Corner’s big ideas. Opener The Problem With Apocalyptic Tyranny sets that tone nicely—a bludgeoning metalcore palette with opulence working around it, not undercutting it.
There’s also enough of both here to not feel super one-note. The two-part closer Love ventures into full-blown rock-opera territory; conversely, for Assassination Run’s concessions to troglodytic chud-core, at least “Who let the dogs out? It smells like bitch in here” is a funny line. Bringing it all together, the sense that The Gloom In The Corner are trying counts for a whole lot. Perhaps it’s not always elegant, but it is fun, and different enough from most of the metalcore paddock. You’d be amazed how that alone makes this worth keeping around.
For fans of: Motionless In White, Half Me, ten56.
‘Royal Discordance’ by The Gloom In The Corner is released on 27th February on Sharptone Records.
Shelf Lives
HypernormaL
You can chronicle around two or three decades of music on Shelf Lives’ HypernormaL. Despite how little meat on its bones there appears to be, there’s a litany of noise-pop duos and electroclash relics in here. At any given time, you’ll get Sleigh Bells, 100gecs, Le Tigre, or even a more feral take on the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. From that, you can glean a thesis of returning to blogosphere-era fearlessness that fuels Shelf Lives and their deliberately abrasive work. This is made for the greebs and weirdos who’ll dismiss The Dare’s likeminded revisitations as ‘poser shit’.
There’s definitely a sense of HypernormaL prizing said abrasion before deeper craft, too. Most often, tracks are comprised of a buzzing synth and a taut drumbeat; a bassline might show up if Shelf Lives are feeling particularly adventurous. It’s got a homespun feel if that home was unlit and permanently had sweat dripping from the ceiling. As for a punk component they want to foster, the nip in Sabrina Di Giulio’s vocal performance slices up the edges of 60K and don’t laugH even further. Confrontation feels like the M.O. of Shelf Lives, executed in curt, unshowy forms.
Appropriately, it all goes by quickly enough without the opportunity to linger for too long. HypernormaL doesn’t care much for depth or replayability; odds are, if you’re into it, the bash will connect on a first spin. It’s also one of those albums that feels designed to be better live, to shake off recorded restrictions and let it all blare out. frissoN certainly gives that impression, as a block of synth-fuzz hammered into a roundabout shape. This is meant to hit out in the wild, headphoneless, and Shelf Lives definitely take that into account.
It’s a bit of a difficult album to really judge, then, surprising with how rudimentary it can feel. For what’s presented on record, it’s not the same whirlwind punch-up that’d come from a grotty dive show. There just isn’t the structure for that, and on the off chance something like like heR decides to dabble, you lose a lot of what makes Shelf Lives pop. View this more as a taster for the live experience, then, because with how prolific they appear to be, you will end up catching them. And given the lineage of acts drawn from, it’s not a conclusion that’s not all that outlandish to suggest.
For fans of: Sleigh Bells, PVA, Cowboy Hunters
‘HypernormaL’ by Shelf Lives is released on 26th February.
Words by Luke Nuttall
