Tag: Single Review: Let Go

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Taxidermy Shares a Bruising and Unsettling Ripper

Copenhagen-based experimental noise/post-punk outfit Taxidermy — Osvald Reinhold (vocals, guitar), Toke Brejning Frederiksen (guitar), Joachim Lorch-Schierning (bass) and Johan Knutz Haavik (drums) — have quickly established a sound that draws from math rock, No Wave, post-hardcore and emo among a list of others. 

Thematically, the Danish quartet’s work sees them exploring the unease and disquiet of contemporary existence through delving into the cryptic and disorientating, the claustrophobic and the surreal. Crafting material anchored around unpredictable arrangements, raw and visceral textures, broad dynamic range and intense emotional delivery, the members of the Copenhagen-based outfit actively challenges the listener to confront the discomfort of the unknown. 

On the heels of last year’s attention grabbing Coin EP, the Danish outfit’s forthcoming follow-up Let Go EP will feature, “Impending,” a single that simultaneously cements their reputation for crafting brooding post-punk while subtly expanding upon their sound with alternating ethereal and atmospheric verses and the scorching, power chord-driven hooks and choruses that would Steve Albini proud. 

Let Go EP‘s latest single, EP title track “Let Go” is a bruising bit of skronky and noisy post-punk/grunge built around a classic grunge song structure with alternating quieter verses with cinematic strings and Reinhold crooning lyrics and explosive choruses and hooks with Reinhold’s urgent shouts. The song captures a heartbroken and desperate narrator, who vacillates between despair, self loathing and hatred — sometimes within the turn of a phrase.

The band’s Reinhold explains that the lyrics capture “a weakened and darkened mind, with a cynical, bleak view of itself and its surroundings.” He goes on to explain that the song was written after the experience of falling out of love. “It’s a deeply personal song for me, as it captures the essence of a weakened and darkened mind, with a cynical, bleak view of itself and its surroundings. It depicts a repeating cycle of actions in an inescapable loop of destructive behavior and presents the troubling notion that we are all self-absorbed individuals who can only briefly be persuaded to believe in unions of any kind, and for a fleeting moment, we may get along. But inevitably, we return to a hostile status quo, distancing ourselves because, ultimately, that’s easier.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Loudmammoth is a Newcastle-upon-Tyne-based shoegaze act — currently comprised of Sophie, Will, Liam and Declan — that can trace its origins back to August 2018, when its founding members bonded over a mutual appreciation of shoegaze, DIY recording and Ian Curtis. With the release of their self-produced debut single “Enough,” the Northeastern English band caught the attention of Scottish indie label Last Night From Glasgow, who signed the act seven weeks later.

Building upon a growing profile, the members of Loudmammoth released their second single “Let Go” last summer, which they followed up with a sold out hometown show at Newcastle’s The Cumberland Arms with labelmates L-Space and Stephen Solo. The single helped the band land praise from The Crack Magazine, who described the band as “purveyors of the very finest jangle,” while receiving airplay on BBC 6 Music‘s The Tom Robinson Show and a feature on the BBC Introducing Mixtape.

Since the release of “Let Go,” the band has been rather busy:  they’ve spent the past few months in intensive writing sessions  — and in that same period of time, they’ve gone through a slight lineup change. Interestingly enough, those past few months of intense writing have helped to produce the rising British act’s latest single, the shimmering one part jangle pop, one part shoegaze, one part dream pop number “In Blue.” Centered around shimmering and jangling guitars, Sophie’s ethereal vocals and a soaring hook, the track — to my ears, at least — brings The Sundays and Slowdive to mind, complete with an unfussy yet clean production and a yearning ache at its core.

New Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Seapony’s Jangling, New Single “Couldn’t Be”

The Olympia, WA–based band Seapony received both national and international attention with the release of their first two full-length albums, Go With Me and Falling, and as a result the band wound up taking their sound based around the simple catchy […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Seapony’s Latest Single “Let Go” Reveals a Refined Sound

With the release of their first two albums Go With Me and Falling, the Olympia, WA–based band Seapony received both national and eventually international attention for a sound based around simple, catchy melodies with elements of shoegaze and surf rock. […]