It’s anniversary time for New York Mathcore mob Car Bomb. Formed in Rockville Centre all the way back in 2000, it doesn’t take an advanced mathematician to work out the band is twenty-five years old this year. Their first studio release since Mordial back in 2019, independently released three-track EP Tiles Whisper Dreams is a much-anticipated short, sharp, and extremely brutal shock to the system.

Opening with surging, ascending aggression from guitarist Greg Kubacki, “Blindsides” quickly launches into Imperial Triumphant atonality, blasting drums, and feral vocals. An opposing descent uses scales and a riff like a prowling Meshuggah, the song featuring all the off-kilter time signatures you could possibly want. There’s also a fantastic clean vocal from frontman Michael Dafferner and a delicate climax played on clean guitar strings just to keep you on your toes.

“Paroxysm” is made up of three relatively straightforward minutes of Meshuggah meets Gojira style madness, the rhythm section of bassist Jon Modell and drummer Elliot Hoffman displaying insane levels of metronomic precision and concentrated fury. 

Some bands hitting their quarter century might think about going a little easier on themselves with less demanding and easier to play rhythms. But not here. Sure, the title track possesses a more simplistic, bruising groove section, but that’s just a tiny island to cling onto in a turbulent ocean of violent schizophrenia.

A savage and uncompromising short-form release, Tiles Whisper Dreams bristles and seethes with all the elements of post-Hardcore, Metalcore, Mathcore, and Punk, smashing them together with pure, unadulterated intensity.

Buy the album here:
https://carbomb.bandcamp.com/album/tiles-whisper-dreams-ep

8 / 10
GARY ALCOCK
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