Drill For Absentee are a Philadelphia trio whose original run lasted from 1995 to 1999. Their catalogue is hardly the most extensive. Since their 2021 covid era reunion the band, Kevin Kelly – Bass, Guitar, Vocals, Michael Nace – Guitar, Vocals and new Drummer Ken Kuniyoshi (replacing co-founding member Bryan Sargent) have been busy in the recording studio. What they’ve come up with are two EP’s which have been put together as one LP (Note – Vol. 1 was put out digitally on September 13, 2022) while Vol 2 was forged between August 2022 to March 2025, out now via Expert Work Records.
“Hums” is a little unexpected, Bluesy in tone with moments that recall the likes of Mule but if they featured Mike Watt on Bass. This gives the listener some actual hooks to latch onto with a cool jam band feel, not something you’d ordinarily associate with a genre as complex and thought-out as Math-Rock. A solid start. “The Bad Days of Blonde, Black Nails” is deliciously abrasive, the confrontational sounding scraping riffs not uncommon to that of Big Black, however with vocals recalling Walter Schreifels (Quicksand). The latter is suggestive of an Emo style sensitivity, as opposed to the more cynical, obnoxious approach of the late Steve Albini (RIP), these two seemingly disparate elements yielding stunning results nonetheless. “Skating” can be described as elegant, coincidentally much like Torvill and Dean’s performance in the 1984 Sarajevo Winter Olympics. Whispered Vocals, thoughtfully plucked Guitars, rolling Drums, Frippertronic(ish) ambience, sublime and breathtakingly beautiful. Concluding Vol 1 is “Placating the R_Sinbow” a Psychedelic Jazzy gem with spoken word Vocals which sounds like it could have been recorded by underrated Post-Hardcore legends Saccharine Trust. Despite its free-form nature at no point does it meander, every note feeling essential.
Vol 2 commences with “7riangles” that sees The Dicks brand of Post-Punk and Bluesy Alt-Rock on 1985’s These People being adopted but with a DFA makeover. You wouldn’t think these two worlds would meet, let alone work, but they do! “Desert Flame” is reminiscent of fIREHOSE, especially 1986’s Ragin’, Full On with its post-Minutemen Art-Punk sensibilities. However unlike that band who always felt underwhelming and frankly disappointing a lot of the time, the music performed here is far more intricate, original and engaging, it manages to leave you wanting more. “Revenge Arc” is possibly the most overt Post-Rock sounding track on the album as up until this point there was little to indicate that the band had ever much in common with the likes of Slint, Rodan and June of 44. If Spiderland is in regular rotation on your record player then there’s a very good chance you’ll get a huge buzz out of this intricately carved and amazingly crafted number. “Styli” main riff recalls the Glammy Boogie Rock stomp of Black Sabbath’s “Rock ‘n’ Roll Doctor”, undoubtedly one of that band’s sillier tracks. Here however its ‘reworked’ into something far more respectable and as may have been done by Seattle’s brilliant Engine Kid, who much like Drill For Absentee weren’t afraid of employing heavier textures within Post-Rock. A truly epic conclusion to the album.
A fantastic release this will hopefully give much deserved exposure to what is a relatively obscure band. Highly recommended.
Buy the album here:
https://drillforabsentee.bandcamp.com/album/strand-of-a-lake-vol-1-and-vol-2
9 / 10
REZA MILLS
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