MATTACHINE – Isolation as a form of torture
Packed with feral energy, Mattamachine is the new side project by Infant Island. Isolation as a form of torture is a short but sweet EP that bring us four tracks that are as intense and they are confrontational, dealing with themes that are contemporary and important such as the treatment of the LGBTQ community by our society.
The complex and crushing first track called Sisyphus sets the trend for a technically flawless and aggressive kind of mathcore that probably has the power to set your ears on fire. Catchy yet very brutal is the trademark for the remaining three songs that embraces the listener in a whirlwind of aggression, melody, and chaotic beauty.
BLUE NOISE – World of harm
World of harm is a microcosmos of beauty, aggression, light, and darkness. Interwoven by menacing shadows this LP has moments of clarified peace such as in the track World of Love, a rare moment of tranquil and hopeful passages in a setting of focused and pure dark matter.
This project by Maya Chun is the artful converge of blackgaze, screamo and post-hardcore and the result is as intense as it can be. The shrieks and growls plant the leitmotif of unrelenting rebellion in passages that are sometimes tranquil and sometimes chaotically maddening.
World of harm is armed with 9 tracks that pack sombre and menacing energy for the soundtrack of those dark days that are confusing and heavy but that still retain a light at the end.
NUVOLASCURA – As we suffer
from memory and imagination
Nuvolascura is a four-piece from California that plays a very distinctive brand of crossover between emo and powerviolence. This is their second full-length and is complex and progressive, offering moments of emotional intensity and abrasive melodies.
The vocals are powerful and flawless laying upon technically clever riffs and dedicated drumming. The lyrics deal with heavy themes such as anxiety and depression that are masterfully captured in the dynamics between tranquil and frantic passages in most of the songs.
An LP that can be emotionally charged and almost draining, but that is well balanced offering glimpses of hope and undying resolve and persistence when dealing with the hardest and darkest of times.
Text: Cláudia Zafre
Label: Zegema Beach Records