Sometimes I am at a genuine loss for words. It can be because of
the simple reaction I have to certain songs, or the fact that there’s
so much going on that it’s difficult to untangle what I’m
hearing. This Ship Will Sink are one of those bands, and my being
dumbstruck is pretty much a combination of those two factors. I
listened to their demo a whole lot, and since getting it in the
post I’ve been spinning this cd on a frequent basis. And despite
all these repeated plays I’m still lacking what I really want
to say. Before I even get to the music I want to talk about the
feel I get from these six songs. There just seems to be so much
fucking rage in here, so much passion and conviction it just kind
of catches me in the chest and sweeps me away, which is a rare feeling
indeed. Musically it’s a big chaotic mess, like some absurdly
complicated map to some fabulous hidden treasure. Earth-scorching,
screamy, mathy hardcore, done better than pretty much anyone and
never forsaking a good song for needless fidgets at the fretboard.
The first song alone chops from complex, fragmented stabs and crashing
chords to tuneful melodic breakdowns as if it were the easiest thing
in the world, with the various voices trading guttural roars for
imploring, desperate hollers in the time it takes to draw another
breath. The band keep to this unpredictable formula throughout,
seemingly bored with a riff or idea after playing it through once
or twice, launching into something new whenever a fresh new fancy
takes them. And despite this footloose approach, the music never
sounds like a string of riffs flung together for the sake of putting
out a record – this shit clicks , hanging together like something
wonderful and monstrous in equal measure. Lyrics are lengthy streams
of angry prose, dealing incredulously with the fucked up things
humans do to other humans and the loss of a loved one, before ending
on a note of striking positivity with ‘forgetting names and
faces’, an ode to the scene, the kids™ and the power
this crazy noise has to seemingly imbibe us with eternal youth and
force life back into burnt-out bones. There are so many good things
to say about these nineteen minutes of music that I really think
I could go on all night. So I guess it’s best to kill the
words here, before telling you to just go and find out all about
it for yourselves. – Alex Deller
