ALBUM REVIEW: Blossom – Pupil Slicer
How on earth do you follow a record like Mirrors? PUPIL SLICER’s 2021 debut full-length made a huge impact in all the right circles; super technical, bewilderingly chaotic and somehow even deeply moving, we put it at number 13 in our albums of the year here at Distorted Sound, and some of us wanted it way higher. More importantly though, it set the band on a staggering ascent that has made them one of the most hotly-tipped names in the UK underground; festival appearances everywhere, endless headline shows, and support slots for the truly phenomenal likes of GODFLESH, ITHACA and ROLO TOMASSI among many others – the quartet’s work ethic is remarkable, and now it yields their much-anticipated second album Blossom.
Right off the bat one of the main achievements of this record is that PUPIL SLICER have developed their sound significantly even when they could have easily settled for a minimal tool up on their excellent debut. Don’t panic though, Blossom is still rooted in their mind-bending mathcore assault, but there is something about the band here that just feels bigger, more muscular, and – to use this term very lightly – more accessible even. A lot of the riffs have more of a groove about them, for example, something to grab onto where Mirrors would’ve just kept you spinning and spinning. The involvement of producer Lewis Johns this time around also feels noticeable, with the whole record carrying that crisp, clear sound that one associates with the litany of stellar albums he’s sat behind the desk for.
The other particularly noteworthy area of growth for PUPIL SLICER on Blossom is their embrace and impressive command of melody. If you’ve heard the singles you’ll know band mastermind Kate Davies has added clean vocals to their repertoire this time around, and here they add a level of anthemia to multiple tracks that feel considerably more geared to the ever-growing crowds the band have been playing to over the past two years. Without question though the album reaches its peak in this regard with penultimate track Dim Morning Light. Coming out of the piano-led respite of Language Of The Stars, it’s a towering piece of dynamic, mesmeric post-metal that pairs brilliantly with the closing title track to end the record with a supremely cathartic double header that provides perhaps the most fulsome look at PUPIL SLICER in their new and evolved form.
Granted, just as there will always be DILLINGER fans who say Calculating Infinity is their best, there may be a few listeners who prefer the scrappier feel of the band’s debut, but Mirrors isn’t going anywhere for starters, and also Blossom doesn’t exactly skimp on whipping up a frenzy of its own. Fifth track The Song At Creation’s End is another nailed-on highlight and it’s all over the place as it fills eight minutes with moody hypnotic prog, desperate blackgaze and panic-stricken metalcore before reaching a deeply affecting conclusion. No Temple meanwhile is probably the closest the band come to scratching the same itch as their debut, but even then this exercise in violence comes with a fresh industrial influence. Ultimately this a more varied experience than the last one, and in turn perhaps an even more engaging listen despite its longer runtime.
To reach for just an ounce of balance for a second, you could say that the path PUPIL SLICER have taken here isn’t wildly different to that of some of their peers and influences. THE CALLOUS DAOBOYS, ITHACA, ROLO TOMASSI and even EMPLOYED TO SERVE have all done something vaguely similar whereby they’ve taken the chaoticism of their earlier efforts and refined it into something bigger and maybe just a tiny bit more audience friendly over time – often with the help of clean vocals in particular. But that’s hardly a reason to mark the band down; the fact is this is the route that makes the most sense, and any similarities in the journey are easily overlooked when one considers the unique quality of the destination.
So how do you follow a record like Mirrors? The answer is the same really as it always is for any band that has made an album which casts such as shadow: evolve. Grow. Make something different enough to stand apart from its predecessor, but crucially don’t lose who you are in the process. That’s a difficult line to walk, and yet PUPIL SLICER have done so with ease and grace. Blossom is another absolute triumph from this obviously very special band; a focused, cohesive and well-rounded evolution, it puts the quartet without question at two for two, and somehow it still feels like they’re just getting started.
Rating: 9/10
Blossom is set for release on June 2nd via Prosthetic Records.
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