Review Summary: Cohesive gothic country punk with development behind it
Wailin Storms has ridden for a decade-plus on a unique mix of gothic country and deathrock that plays like 16 Horsepower, The Birthday Party, and Danzig hollering in a junkyard. While their presentation has eased up on the noise punk rawness of their early efforts, they’ve hung onto enough ominous sensibilities to maintain a dark dusty aura. Their fifth installment, The Arsonist, broadens the group’s scope with an almost ceremonial flair throughout.
Even with a refined execution, the musicianship is off-putting enough to reinforce an unsettling mood. The vocals are a slightly more nasal timbre than before but have a sense of control that works with the sermoning mood. The instrumentation does well in balancing grinding rhythms, drawn out pacing, and tense swells. The guitars reconcile Americana textures with jagged patterns while the bass maintains a blunt fuzz and echoes burst with the drum hits.
Considering how much of the album is driven by slow burns, it feels a little ironic to note how the pacing may be a bit jumbled in spots. The opening “Dead End,” “You Never Answered,” and “Patient Night” set up some dark psych intrigue but don’t quite ignite in the ways that their upbeat moments would indicate. Songs like “Heart Of Mine” and the title track fare better as their focus on doomy soundscapes and spiritual wailing vocals that invoke scenes in an arcane church ritual. “Never Rest” and “Saved” also stand out for grinding out that Killing Joke influence through crunching agony while the closing “It’s All Dark Now Where Your Eyes Used To Be” sees creepy piano unravel into a haunting swell.
The Arsonist may be my first exposure to the ways of Wailin Storm, but I can still feel a sense of development behind its execution. While there are times where the song structures can be a bit haphazard, the band manages to make its odd mix of goth country punk feel cohesive. The playing is tight but with just enough of an unhinged charm shining through, allowing it to sit well with the varying genres holding it together.
