REVIEW: Drore - "Tape Two: Life Regrets" [EP]

By: Ernesto Aguilar

Album Type: EP

Date Released: 22/09/2017

Label: Rad Nauseam Records

Slow, winding and tense, Drore create a noisy tour de force that borrows from the methodical delivery of sludge at moments. A band like the Jesus Lizard also feels like an apt comparison, as Drore creates that sort of dense arrangement as the Chicago legends

"Tape Two: Life Regrets" CS//DD track listing

1. Novelty Tattoo Sleeve

2. Old Egg

3. Happy Accident

4. New Skids On The Block

The Review:

The Oxford, United Kingdom-based post-rock foursome Drore are one of a crop of bands that seems to find inspiration in realms of punk, noise and hard rock. Of these performers, there is a reflection back to music in the vein of mid-career Sonic Youth and a few other acts associated with the mostly withered grunge movement of the 1990s. At least that is the impression you get listening to "Tape Two: Life Regrets”. It is the sophomore release by Drore – a follow-up to, you guessed it, "Tape One." The four-song outing, though brief, digs in on those, in many ways, timeless approaches.

"Tape Two" begins with the post-hardcore noise of "Novelty Tattoo Sleeve," a largely instrumental affair that presents Drore at its best. Bassist Olly Corona-Brown and drummer Stephen Frame masterfully set the backbeat, as the track goes effortlessly into "Old Egg." This is our first introduction to Taz Corona-Brown's vocals, which present a bit of sardonic swagger to the depressive rhythm. Mix in the second guitar with Tom Greenway and you get a wave of sound that is fierce as it is pleasing.

While produced well to flow out of the second cut, "Happy Accident" marks a smart change of pace. Slower, winding and tense, Drore create a noisy tour de force that borrows from the methodical delivery of sludge at moments. A band like the Jesus Lizard feels like an apt comparison, as Drore creates that sort of dense arrangement as the Chicago legends. "New Skids on the Block" recalls some of David Yow's flailing virtuosity as Corona-Brown alternates between a clean, low vocal to a furious roar over the song's nine minutes.

Sadly, a few issues mar the closing song. The track just feels overlong. Six minutes in, there's a patch of distortion that might be intentionally artful but could easily be mistaken for exceptionally bad (and borderline unlistenable) post-production feedback that seems altogether unartful. At seven minutes, there's a chord and drum progression that is simply repeated, over and over, for a full minute. Then it's distortion for another minute and a half that has to make you think, 'are they testing me or something' or, worse, 'Sonic Youth did this shit a million times better.' With the rest of the EP containing songs that were half its length, a bit of restraint might have benefitted Drore, and made the wrap of what is a solid release far stronger.

"Tape Two: Life Regrets" is available here

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