By: Charlie Butler
Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 30/05/2015
Label: No List Records
The whole album feels like it’s teetering on the edge of collapse
which lends a real thrill and urgency to proceedings. This is felt most
strongly during epic closer “Brawler’s Fracture”. Intense, restless riffing
akin to Keelhaul is swallowed by a buzzing swarm of squealing guitars that threaten
to consume all. Just before chaos fully descends, the track breaks into a crushing
slow-motion finale. “Of Ash/Of Shit/Of
Shame” is a skilfully constructed visceral journey. Adolyne create a unique noise,
a captivating damaged racket that will enrapture those with a taste for uneasy
listening.
“Of Ash/Of Shit/Of Shame” CD//DD//LP track listing:
1).
(A Recuring Zero)
2).
Deserts in my Blood
3).
The Knife Inside
4).
(Moist Pennies)
5).
Crown
6).
Automatic Writing
7).
Swallow the Black Pill
8).
Gnashing of the Teeth
9).
When Guilt is the Only Muse
10).
Brawler’s Fracture
The Review:
A
cursory listen to the opening track of “Of
Ash/Of Shit/Of Shame” may leave you scratching your head. Saskatoon quartet,
Adolyne, open their latest opus with two
minutes of haunting strings and piano titled “(A Recurring Zero)”, a far cry from the world of heavy music. This
subtle, ominous introduction only makes the impact of the subsequent onslaught
all the more powerful, like sipping a glass of water and tasting broken glass.
“Deserts in my Blood” and “The Knife Inside” demonstrate the
ferocity of Adolyne in top gear. Intricate riffs fly by
at breakneck speed as the band navigate twisting time signatures and bursts of
straight ahead punk rock. At their most raucous, Adolyne
manage to achieve the complexity and precision of Botch and
early Don Caballero whilst retaining an unhinged
noise rock edge.
The
whole album feels like it’s teetering on the edge of collapse which lends a
real thrill and urgency to proceedings. This is felt most strongly during epic
closer “Brawler’s Fracture”.
Intense, restless riffing akin to Keelhaul is swallowed
by a buzzing swarm of squealing guitars that threaten to consume all. Just
before chaos fully descends, the track breaks into a crushing slow-motion finale.
“Automatic Writing” ties together the
disparate musical threads of the album to create a compelling centrepiece. Passages
of slow gothic menace give way to outbursts of ragged post-hardcore, like Oxbow cornering At The Drive In in a
dark alley. Clean vocals make an appearance for the first time, particularly
effective during the sweetly sinister orchestral section. “Swallow
the Black Pill” sees Adolyne stretching themselves further,
riffs getting slower and simpler as their compositions get longer.
“Of Ash/Of Shit/Of Shame” is a skilfully
constructed visceral journey. Adolyne create a unique
noise, a captivating damaged racket that will enrapture those with a taste for
uneasy listening.
“Of Ash/Of Shit/Of Shame” is
available here
