Review Summary: The end of a suicide summer brings a New Hell
We've all been there before: a deep, unexplainable sadness, where reality tends to blend between actuality and negative intrusive thoughts, where there's no difference between sobriety and getting high, and a hate, whether it be for yourself or those around you, seeps in. If you're one of the lucky ones who hasn't had this experience, then I present New Hell.
From the near-Pop Rock "Do You Feel Nothing," to the visceral, slow-burning "Strain," the Flint Michigan trio offer their hybridized version of Grunge-Shoegaze in a relatively saturated scene, but are able to separate themselves from the horde through infectious choruses, lush and melodic guitar passages coupled with crushing down-tuned riffs, as well as the juxtaposition between vocalists Boyhtari's low, scratchy croon-like voice and Gaval's nasally, high-pitched style. Though lyrically the album can display some cringe-worthy melodies i.e. "I would kill myself completely out of spite," or "I hate my friends cuz they don't hate themselves," this and other similar outpourings posses a sense of familiarity, the intrusive thoughts that you know aren't real and sound stupid, but sometimes can't help but feel.
Sonally, New Hell can be as bipolar as Boyhtari and Gaval's different vocal styles. While most songs do follow the formulaic soft-loud dynamic, each one carries a distinct personality, holding all the trappings for producing an unremarkably homogenous "Doomgaze" album, but it's how each song is executed that the album soars: opener "Circles of Hell" begins with a finger-picked slow crawl and quickly erupts between hazy and weighty riff, and pulsating drums; 9 minute "You're Gonna Hate What You've Done" similarly builds, but towards a country-twanged solo as both vocalists bounce back-and-forth as if finishing each other's sentences:
"Well the days are getting shorter
All your friends stopped coming over
And you're losing your composure
You should sleep less, we should talk more."
New Hell offers something fresh for those looking for doom-drenched shoegaze a la Cloakroom or True Widow, and those wanting a melancholic and expressive album to help get them through the winter.
