Monday 4 July 2016

Adolyne - "Of Ash/Of Shit/Of Shame" (Album Review)

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



Band info: bandcamp || facebook