Release
date: October 29th 2015. Label: Solar Flare Records.
Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl
Waste
– Tracklisting
1.
Waste
2.
Wee See Fire
3.
Turning Point
4.
Slow Everywhere
5.
Infinite Pill Case
6.
Black And Table
7.
Iron Butt
8.
Devotion Man
9.
As Happy As*
*
Les Thugs cover
Band
Members:
Mathieu
: Drums
Sébastien
: Guitars
Mathieu
: Bass & Vocals
Review:
Do
you really enjoy the self-loathing, hate and anger filled lyrics and
tone of sludge and noise rock but also really want to pump your fist
like a jersey shore maniac chugging a PBR? Then boy, do I have a band
for you. Sofy Major are everything you want in a sludgy, noise rock
outfit with the added bonus of some of the most anthemic riffs and
melodies the genre could ever hope for. Their newest album, WASTE,
is one of the catchiest records of the year.
Opening
with the sounds of snoring and what sounds like water, we're quickly
woken up by dirty, driving, noisy harmonics in the title track,
waste.
Vocals
kick in with the drums quite suddenly, and then that previously
mentioned fist pumping begins. Seriously, I don't even like beer and
this makes me want to pound one while screaming along with the chorus
“YES I'M THE WASTE!”
There's enough power
and hook in this track that I could easily see massive mainstream
appeal, yet there's also so much noise and dissonance within the
music that it never comes off as anything but genuine.
Continuing,
Wee
See Fire,
doesn't let up from the momentum. Guitar lines punch the speakers
with squeal and fervor, splendidly repetitious yet never feeling long
winded or dumbed down. The one two punch of this song with the
previous sinking hooks into you like a rabid dog would its fangs. I
don't know why I am writing a full review, when really this could all
just be summed with “SOFY MAJOR: RIFFS AND HOOKS AND RIFFS AND
HOOKS” *note
to the band: you're welcome for the sweet ass t-shirt I just gave
you.
Sofy
Major show their influences with Turning
Point and
Slow
Everywhere,
which would be at home opening up for The Melvins or Unsane in the
early 90's. The main riff and focal point of Turning
Point
lumbers and heaves without relent until around the two minute mark,
when it quickly clears out of the way for an oddly uplifting melodic
break. Some nice harmony work and lead breaks rising towards a
positive climax by songs end. Even the feedback gives a satisfied
smile.
The
main riff in Infinite
Pill Case
is straight out of a 70's muscle car in the desert, cruising fast and
lean. The break around 1:48 clearly just a minor pit stop to allow
for a quick catch of breath, with a staccato guitar lead swinging us
back into gear, ramping us back up to speed and beyond quickly
building to an intense car crash smash against a wall ending,
followed by Black
and Table's
slow crawl to the hospital. The feedback that weaves throughout the
track sounds like needles going into your skin. It's no less powerful
or strong a track, but feels like waiting in the ER compared to the
rest of the album, and while Iron
Butt
picks the pace of the record back up, it feels like it spends the
entirety of the song building up to something that it never quite
gets to.
Thankfully,
Devotion
Man
brings us back on track. No fancy riffs here, nothing to complicated,
just a solid rock song with a solid hook and chorus. This song feels
like it could have been co-written by Stone Temple Pilots, and yes,
that IS a good thing.
Closing
out the album is As
Happy As,
whose opening moments build up to a dirty song that resembles if
Depeche Mode went grunge. It's a weird choice for a closing number.
Overall, I love this band. I really like this record, and want to
like it even more than I do. There are very strong songs, and those
songs are some of the best that have come out this year. There is
also too many songs that feel like just filler tracks taking away
from the overall success of the record. If they cut those tracks and
released this album as an EP it would easily make my top 5 for album
of the year. That said, this is still an extremely solid record and
deserves a listen.
Words
by Billy Myers III
Thanks
to Mathieu at Solar Flare Records and Earsplit
PR for the promo. Waste will be available from October 29th 2015 on
CD/DD/Vinyl from Solar Flare Records.
Links:
