Release Date: May 24th 2024. Record Label: Blues Funeral Recordings. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl
Blue City - Tracklisting
1.Tomorrow
2.Fire Waltz
3.Etherol
4.Lungfish
5.Wasting Time
6.Death Om
7.Turn It Off
8.Narc
9.Crack Aunt
10.Blue City
Band Members
Zachary Amster– guitar, vocals
Taylor Iversen – bass, vocals
Ryan DeWitt - drums
Graham Zander - guitar
Review
Blue City is the new album from Sludge/Stoner Rock TITANS Abrams and sees the band are still evolving their sound to new SONIC pastures with this record focusing more on texture, melodic, shoegaze and a dynamically powerful Sludge Metal rhythm. The HARDCORE flow of their earlier albums has mellowed recently with Abrams taking a similar sound to bands such as TORCHE, Cave In and HUM.
Opening track Tomorrow is full of free-flowing Psychedelic movements with Abrams bringing a tightly woven blend of Sludge/Stoner grooves with a powerful Post-Rock and Shoegaze energy with the sublime melodic vocals from Zachary and Taylor. The song is at it’s most heaviest when there is a sudden departure into Punk Rock lore and waves of Progressive Rock/Metal sounds that set the scene for Blue CIty becoming Abrams most outstanding release even at this early stage.
Second song Fire Waltz sees the band channelling HUM with a classic Space Rock/Sludge Rock drive which feels right at home within the best and outstanding classic moments from the last 30 years of the Alt Metal, Sludge Metal and Stoner Metal scenes. The constant Post-Metal punishing sound is quite bittersweet and uplifting with Abrams bringing some intense screeching guitars into the mix which fans of CAVE IN or Mutoid Man would be mighty impressed by.
Third song Etherol is more Ambient Post-Rock and Space Rock swagger with emotionally charged lyrics with bittersweet vocals soon giving way to an engaging DOOM-POP transformation which builds upto impressive STADIUM ROCK sized grooves. There’s a subtle noise rock and guitar amplifier delivery coming from angle with Abrams now creating highly original and brilliant anthemic songs of their own making.
Blue City takes a more reflective and emotional turn within the next two tracks of Lungfish and Wasting Time. The atmosphere is more Post-Rock and Post-Metal focused with direct amounts of Sludge/Stoner Metal aggression being used at the right moment but never taking the mellow creative aspects away from the actual record. This part of the album has the most melodic and catchiest parts of the whole album with Abrams slowly changing into masters of SONIC and AMPLIFIER distortion which becomes the more dominant part of their music for the remainder of the album.
Blue City is perhaps Abrams most cinematic record yet with the intense musical composition becoming more Psychedelic in the heavier parts that appear on tracks such as: Death Om, Turn It Off and Blue City perhaps being some of my favourite moments on the whole album. This part of the album firmly allows Abrams to cement their place as one of the essential acts that the Sludge/Stoner Metal scene needs to know about right now.
Blue City is Abrams most deeply engaging and brilliantly rewarding album to date and I’m hoping this allows the band to break out into playing the bigger stages the Sludge/Stoner Metal scene has to offer.
Album Of The Year potential. You bet. Blue City has it all. End Of…
Words by Steve Howe
Thanks to Purple Sage PR for the promo.
Blue City will be available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl via Blues Funeral Recordings from Friday 24th May 2024.
Links
Official | Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram
