So I’ve got good news and bad news, folks. The good news is the new Skull Defekts album Peer Amid is only eight tracks long. The bad news is that it feels like the longest eight songs of your life. For some ungodly reason, The Skull Defekts will release their new record on the heels of another experimental post-rock release. I don’t know if you’re aware, but Radiohead also put out an experimental post-everything album this week.
The noise-rock Swedish foursome are relentless on Peer Amid. By “relentless” I mean practically unlistenable. If melody, musicianship and talent suddenly cease to exist then this album might become slightly more ear-friendly.
Opening track “Peer Amid” (see what they did there?) begins with a pitchy groaning and builds to a drilling guitar-like sound that never quits and quickly gets on your nerves. A baseline so unimportant and repetitive that the unintelligible vocals don’t really annoy me as much as I thought they would.
After nine minutes of agony, Skull Defekts gives us a glimpse of their songwriting chops on “No More Always” and all I can muster are the words “always,” everybody,” “no more,” and “nothing.” Deep stuff, guys. So put in some more textured guitars and a few little electronic hooks and we get supposedly groundbreaking Swedish post-rock. It doesn’t end there, however, and on “In Majestic Drag” TSD have employed a drummer, apparently, to beat along unremittingly while the vocals simply howl and moan along. What a giant drag.
We already have The PaperChase and Radiohead to do experimental, organic (and sometimes noisy) rock records… What do we need Skull Defekts for?
Conclusion: Seriously, what is it with crappy bands releasing lazy noise and labeling it “post-this-or-that”?
I stumbled upon this review by accident while looking for interesting new bands that would fit under the noise rock category. Sorry, but it seems you have no idea what you are writing about, if the nearest comparison point you could find is Radiohead. Neither does this band fit under the category of post rock.
I don’t find this band particularly interesting either, but please do your homework (listen to a LOT MORE MUSIC) before writing more reviews. Or stick to the genres you are more aware of.