If one’s perception of Switzerland involves cliches such as neutrality, cuckoo clocks and chocolate then think again. This is a country with a truly exceptional musical pedigree, for which a cursory glance reveals the likes of The Young Gods, Celtic Frost and of course late, great musician/producer Roli Mosimann.
Now comes Coilguns formed around 2011 from the city of La Chaux-de-Fonds who will hopefully represent a continuation of the aforementioned artists in terms of creativity and innovation. The quartet have string of releases to their name including 2013’s Commuters, 2018’s Millennials, 2019’s Watchwinders, numerous splits, EPs, live recordings and finally of course Odd Love. A band this prolific can sometimes suffer in terms of quality control, will that be the case here?
“We Missed the Parade” musically occupies a space now sadly vacated by recently defunct Swedes Refused, alternating between breezy Melodic Hardcore and crunchier mid-paced Moshworthy material. Bands like Reach the Sky and Hot Water Music may also come to mind on this fantastically bracing opener. “Placeholders” is reminiscent of Vision of Disorder when they started embracing Alt-Metal on From Bliss to Devastation but with post-Punk injected along the way, a much better interpretation of the latter genre than the likes of Bloc Party. Its easy to see why “Generic Skincare” was chosen as a preview single, the Vocals strongly resembling Snapcase’s Daryl Taberski, and while there are similarities to that band’s brand of quirky Post-Hardcore, there’s also an undeniably anthemic quality that makes the track so accessible. If this isn’t already getting steady rotation on BBC6 Music then there’s no justice in the world.
There’s a Gothic hue present on “Black Chyme”, some of the screams are harrowing presenting the track with a Black Metal aesthetic and hence a much darker vibe than heard on the album so far, meanwhile, “Bandwagoning” seamlessly blends Sepultura’s controversial Roots sound, vintage Emo, ala At The Drive-In, and Rage Against the Machine Rap-Rock inflections. “Caravel” compared to its predecessors employs a quieter introspective approach not overly dissimilar to Glassjaw in their heyday, while the employment of Cecil Taylor-esque Free Jazz Piano helps maintain a chaotic edge. Speaking of Glassjaw, the Long Islanders influence is apparent once more on “Venetian Blinds” but there’s also a prog influence most associated with bands such as Muse that make this an exceptionally intriguing listen. “Featherweight” is classic Post-Metal what with the slow-building passages interspersed with moments of sonic violence as would have been undertaken by Neurosis. The track despite its lengthy running time at no point feels laboured or pretentious which is to the band’s eternal credit.
“The Wind to Wash the Pain” can be viewed as a ballad, albeit one imbued with Psychedelia and Post-Rock, cinematic and achingly gorgeous. “Bunker Vaults intro” is a collection of assorted sounds that serve as an effective prelude to “Bunker Vault” which at over seven minutes is the album’s longest and features some of its coolest riffs that would make both the grooviest of Stoner-Rock and gnarliest of Noise-Rock bands green with envy. There’s also an omnipresent epic feel that proves an ideal conclusion to the album.
Its amazing how despite Odd Love’s (roughly) forty eight minute running time, Coilguns manage to nevertheless pack in a collection of succinctly crafted, genre defying, heavily experimental Rock tunes. This focus on running time is important seeing as how the album keeps the listener glued throughout by bypassing forays into self-indulgence. Highly recommended.
Buy the album here:
https://coilguns.ffm.to/oddlove
8 / 10
REZA MILLS
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