California's The Love Below seemed to sadly fly under the radar upon the release of their last EP. Said EP "Reproductive Rights" played a speedy yet heavy style of hardcore the record benefited from grungey production and equally grimy lyrics. This trend continued on their split with Homewrecker last year managing to add slight touches of sludge to further accentuate the negativity contained within the songs. This all leads us to their first LP for the infamous A389 Records.
The band continue the style they pushed on the split with Homewrecker. This means they aren't solely relying on speed instead using the grimy visions of the lyrics to help inform the rest of the song. The band enters a strong catchy groove on "Nazi Uniform" to help give the listener the same sense of fear that the lyrics speak of. Meanwhile on the next song " God Don't Make No Trash" the use a similar instance to build up to a speedy return. The band doesn't rely on either of these tricks or styles but instead uses one to inform and emphasize the other.
The production follows suit relying on a bassy but grimy sounding mix overall. This helps to push the rhythm section to the forefront and make the songs sound heavier overall. The song benefit from this by using the mix to help the songs sound more desperate. The vocals are slightly lower than normal giving one the impression that the vocalist is screaming from the depths.
All of the above mentioned make this is a vicious release relying on despair, depression and antagonism to make it almost grueling to get through. More importantly the album is enjoyable as you feel the anger and rage and everything elses. This helps to inform the music it all fits together in a furious and completely fucked up puzzle. Have fun trying to put it together.
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Posted in MP3s on May 4, 2012
