Pupil Slicer
Blossom



Release Date: 06/02/2023 | Tracklist

Review Summary: I push my fingers into my, uh, post-metalcore?

Before we begin, an elevator pitch: Pupil Slicer’s math-tastic debut, Mirrors, was one of the best grr-skree-chugga records of 2021 and, if you have not heard it yet, then quit being a silly silly and step to it! Every conceivable detail of its angular 6-string assault was presented just so, playing off blackened skramz-y atmospherics with an old-school eye for pacing and a degree of confidence far above their year of call. The result: a quirky and fresh lil’ slice of metalcore magnificance. Somewhat unusually, its exceptionalness-ness was not owed just to br00tality, but to the nuanced and intricate execution thereof, setting the UK trio apart in the increasingly chockablock genre they’d snuck atop of. Expectations for their sophomore outing were therefore, at least in my household, a wee bit high. What to do, then, with Blossom, a much more ambitious and/or (depending on your inclinations) cumbersome expression of the grr-skree-chugga formula?

Firstly, the commonalities: Blossom, like its predecessor, still slaps the house down, and then up, and then back down again. Do not let that lead-single curveball mislead you; this is still a very loud album, it just, uh, chooses its friends rather differently. In place of a blackened mathcore foundation, their second record builds its house on the bones of nu-metal revivalism and post-metalcore (yes, Mars, we can use your word). Songs are longer, less sporadic in structure, and more reliant on melody/atmosphere vs. dissonance/rage to tell their stories (it’s very Rolo Tomassi, if that helps get your hype juices flowing).

Through this stylistic sidestep, new things are achieved. Early album highlight, “Departure in Solitude”, works its way into some juicy rhythmic pockets, somersaulting between Liturgy-adjacent ///blastbeasts+etherealness/// and boomy bits of glitchy-groovy nonsense, w/ the movement between the two achieved without seams or strain. LP keystone and terrifically immodest “The Song at Creation’s End” (jeez) also does all of the things: dramatic minor-key strumming, tasteful Chino Moreno worship, slick proggy-bassy wiggles, et cetera x3, until the sky cracks open and the riffs pour out and everything is on fire and burning and screaming and oh god oh lord it is a rather BIG BOI.

The elephant in the room must now, unfortunately, speaketh. This is because his ears hurt. This is because he does not like the production. His trunk doth writhe in protest. Pawoooo, he says. I must, regrettably, concur with my esteemed colleague. In pursuit of absolute epicness, subtlety is jettisoned from Blossom. The whole damn thing is whacked up to 11, leaving only one level on which all aspects of this bulging cacophony must somehow find their place. To understate the problem: it is a lil bit of a squeeze. In contrast to the always breathable and vivid Mirrors - executing its gritty basement mosh vibe with endearing results - Blossom hardens like old plasticine, becoming rigid and synthetic. As such, its clever compositions crumble, falling away, flakey and generic.

The blame lies not solely at the feet of mr mixing; the songcraft here is simply not as consistent as the record’s highs would have you believe. Brickwalled bulldozer, “No Temple”, could have been written by literally anyone, doing the no fuss LOUD NOISES thing with proficiency but absent interesting ideas (Code Orange would like to know your location). It, and others in the tracklist, simply lack the joyous vocal and textural variety of Mirrors, substituted instead for by-the-numbers riffage and functional-but-soulless beatdowns. To my ears, they are symptomatic of the hurried broadening of influences that Blossom represents, the band having amalgamated and amalgamated, again and again, until the bespoke sm0l bubble that they blew for themselves back in 2021 wobbles bulges bursts POP from the pressure. Putting the same point differently: that I have already made reference to four other bands/artists is not just a sign of my limits as a writer, but of how willing Pupil Slicer have been to exchange the finite currency of individuality for a wider, less characterful toolkit.

The biggest casualty is the album’s would-be emotional climax. In contrast to Mirrors’ excellent final stretch - whose post-rockian crescendos, whilst simplistic and obvious, induced goosebumps with regularity - Blossom’s last three cuts flop between a varied horde of metal tropes, yet fail to achieve much of anything with them. The apparent grandiosity of “Dim Morning Light” is dampened to a squeak - the angelic vox and lavish guitar arrangements lacking the heft and grace they deserve, courtesy of mr mixing - while the hyper-melodic mush of the title-track drowns in its own eclecticism, shooting for that late-career Dillinger/ETID thing without the battle-hardened experience to see it done right.

No disrespect towards Pupil Slicer’s intentions: they aimed for maximalism and, by jingo(!), Blossom is certainly that. Some more wisdom for y’all: it can be all too easy to become imbalanced whilst wearing too many hats. That imbalance, for my money, is the unintended consequence of Blossom’s ambition. The oversized beanie was enough, friends. Shelve the bowler, baseball cap and jaunty deer hunter. You do not need them. You never did.



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user ratings (138)
3.6
great


Comments:Add a Comment 
AsleepInTheBack
Staff Reviewer
June 2nd 2023


10447 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

Not the review I wanted to write and you all seem to like this more than me so do not let me dampen your spirits m'kay

Manatea
Staff Reviewer
June 2nd 2023


2072 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

review is awesome and this sounds like something i will love. Will check

MalConstant
June 2nd 2023


290 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Record is great. Nice review though!

MarsKid
Emeritus
June 2nd 2023


21035 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

You can always use the word. Using it means it's that much closer to getting accepted into the lexicon ;^)



I am NOT excited by seeing nu-metal revival mentioned though lol, that movement is such a dead end.

MoM
June 2nd 2023


5994 Comments


^ agreed. Looking forward to moving on from that one as soon as possible

JeetJeet
June 2nd 2023


12430 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

This is so fucking awesome

Digging: Doechii - Alligator Bites Never Heal

rc239
June 2nd 2023


417 Comments


good review, cool/fun album

MarsKid
Emeritus
June 2nd 2023


21035 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

This is pretty alright but don't think I'm too sold, especially on their more atmospheric cuts. Just isn't much of a harmony between them and the more aggressive tracks.

hangth3dj
June 2nd 2023


865 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

I was gonna listen to this at some point anyway, but nu metal revivalism really piqued my interest.

MarsKid
Emeritus
June 2nd 2023


21035 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

tbh now having heard the whole thing, the nu-metal doesn't add much here, more of an occasional flavoring if anything.



By executive order, I declare Tallah are the only modern nu-metal band allowed to engage in nu-metal revival, everyone else politely jump ship.

Calc
June 2nd 2023


17459 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

yeah settling on a nice 3.5 for now.

AsleepInTheBack
Staff Reviewer
June 2nd 2023


10447 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

Ye the nu metal is an accent more than the meat and potatoes, but enough to infiltrate the overall vibe compared to their debut which had none of that.



Tallah do be delivering the sauce on that front.

MarsKid
Emeritus
June 2nd 2023


21035 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

I just feel like nu-metal typically demands more silliness, which Tallah understand. They got a dude in bunny ears prancing around stage dropping the most manic vocals in the scene and the most hilariously heavy breakdowns in the business, they *get it*. The rest of the crowd is either too serious or a glorified Linkin Park tribute band (there's literally a band called papercut...).



fromjoy is a promising head in the right direction. Serious vibe but with genuine experimentation in that realm, which this revival desperately needs.

JeetJeet
June 2nd 2023


12430 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Song at Creations End is absolutely fucking insane

Demon of the Fall
June 2nd 2023


35524 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

This has some cool ideas. Such a departure from the debut. Interesting evolution.

Digging: Nala Sinephro - Endlessness

calmrose
June 2nd 2023


6999 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

this smokes

Digging: Blood Incantation - Absolute Elsewhere

Purpl3Spartan
June 2nd 2023


8992 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Yuh

Digging: Tenue - Arcos, b??vedas, p??rticos

Cormano
June 2nd 2023


4255 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

great read

mirrors was one of my favorite records that year and I didn't really dig the direction hinted with the singles for this but we'll see

Cormano
June 2nd 2023


4255 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

also hard agree about the debut's final stretch, still amazed at how well they pulled it off

JayEnder
June 2nd 2023


21129 Comments


Worst band name ever but the music shreds

Digging: Tyler, the Creator - Chromakopia



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