Drainland - And So Our Troubles Began

once again, i will attempt to describe an irreducible band in one simple post. i apologize in advance. Drainland are, for starters, "5 angry people that live in Ireland who keep getting compared to crust and metalcore bands [they] don’t listen to" - last.fm. i would say it's more along the lines of dark hardcore, sludge, noisy doom metal, and a pinch of post-rock thrown into a blender. but who's to say that's objectively any more accurate or helpful? i've only very recently been turned on to this band, and i regret having not immediately checked them out. (i've gotten over the habit of completely neglecting bands with what i feel to be terrible names, but that in turn has made bands with names that aren't great but don't outright suck be able to fall by the proverbial wayside. (longest parenthetical ever.)). to be honest, i came for the cover art, but i stayed for the substantially unique jams.

i can't honestly say that the record is cohesive, or that Drainland has developed a new sound that is all-their-own, but it's kind of interesting in that sense. it's more of a challenging listen than a lot of bands who have a very well set and defined brand of music and simply follow that script. and while there is an "atmospheric" (for lack of a better term) presence throughout, no two tracks bleed together/become indistinguishable. maybe it's because i'm not up on my Irish punk/crust/sludge, but there's something about this band that strikes me as different. while trying to sum up their sound for my pal Brendan (new KRANG 12" coming soon, whaaat?), i could only manage to say "it's kinda like CURSED, but...not at all...".

vocals consist of decipherable yells which can, depending on the song, have a screamo-ish wave to them or reach bellowing depths. it's pretty neat. the drums are all quite punchy, with the exception of the popping metallic snare. cymbals - particularly the ride - are very well balanced and bright, of which the latter is typically unusual when it comes to heavy stuff. also neat. the bass is also hella metallic but has that crusty-distorted factor. fuzzy, but not sloppy. guitars have almost a black metal quality about them, in that it sounds like many of the riffs were recorded in barren caves and abandoned alleyways. in addition to the constant riffing, the guitars also create a lot of indiscernible noise, which serves both hi and lo end purposes. it's all just very, very neat.

favorite tracks: Jellyfish, Sominal Hex, Weakness, Luxophage.

i'm really tired, so i apologize once again for this half-ass review. but i do sincerely suggest you people check these guys out either on myspace, facebook, tumblr, or bandcamp (linked in post title). these dudes know how to utilize the web.

GIMME GIMME MELATONIN.