ALBUM REVIEW: Living Without – Endless, Nameless
“I will never chill out!”, screams Elle Reynolds on Propaniac. They’ve already set the stage for ENDLESS, NAMELESS’ debut record, Living Without, a writhing, pulsating heart of malevolence and vitriol, and are setting course for insanity and beyond. They’re a dynamic four-piece, swimming against the current of convention, forging a variegated path that leads somewhere between out-and-out lunacy, meticulous prog, and ephemeral springs of pop and, for the greater part of many, it works. Living Without isn’t a shy record and certainly says a lot whilst clutching your collar and screaming into your ear; spit appropriately blinding each eye. Look beyond the chaos, however, and there’s certainly more to this unlikely muddle of mania than meets the eye.
That said, despite the quartet offering up more than what the surface first suggests here, the surface still offers abyssal levels of depth. Their main weapon? Atmosphere. Jaw-breaking hooks and pinprick precise jabs are all but scarce in the field of all-out madness metal, but being able to create a genuine ‘feeling’ is an artistry few manage to master. Not for these lot. Living Without, to put it simply, is an enthralling, often disturbing listen. Reynolds‘ harrowing shrieks, exploding and imploding on a dime, are enough for hairs to stand at full attention, but ENDLESS, NAMELESS’ full ensemble is a force something wicked. Guitar lines scrabble amongst indie-psych musings for moments until ravage chugs are summoned into being with no sign of a warning. Jackon Lacroix’s percussive talents follow suit – swapping swaying grooves for remorseless mashings of drumskin, giving no respite to necks nor ears. Executed with adept precision, Living Without evokes genuine unease as listeners creep their way through the LP’s nine offerings, timid to turn the next stone for fear of the next primal lashing.
This abject volatility can, to a degree, work to Living Without’s detriment. The band’s insistence on jumping from majestic to murderous can leave tracks feeling disjointed and harder to commit to memory than their brilliance deserves. This should be no slight on the band – finding rhyme and rhythm amongst the rapture is no plain task, but it takes its toll when all is said and done. The formula to ENDLESS, NAMELESS’ sound, however, is a welcome product of diverse influence. Between opener A World So Kind’s wizardry of indie-death-metal-car-crash, to the delicate nods to KING GIZZARD in Propaniac, to Remembrance‘s unfurling grind-fest, pigeonholing these lot would do more disservice than to most.
The mixing and mastering, too, gives a perfect playground for the Colorado-hailing wailers to unleash their siege of the senses. Living Without’s final coat is a rough-and-ready one, with every eerie creak and sudden snap accompanied by the fuzz of feedback and the echoing reverb of the underground venue stomping grounds the band has toppled in their ascent up the rankings. Contrasting this with the album’s surgical attention to detail makes for a stunning listen, like a figure skater with a pair of rusted blades – the routine is spotless while the cuts come barbed and unclean.
On the verbal front, Reynolds makes no apology for their equally toothed commentary that finds its way deep into the record’s DNA. Finding a deft balance between what is personal and political, but often crossing paths, Reynolds explores the complex aftermaths of systemic violence and their own forays with their trans identity forcibly being made a ‘political wedge’. With tightly-wound musicianship and cinematic levels of theatre, a mature voice of lyricism is another welcome addition to this young band’s already impressive CV.
ENDLESS, NAMELESS can feel proud of their achievement in Living Without. Few bands can truly claim to conjure true tension amongst listeners, and fewer can do so with the same disordered beauty that permeates the album’s walls. 2023 already has a horde of newcomers for keen listeners to keep their eyes on, too many to count mind you, but make no mistake; ENDLESS, NAMELESS are not worth living without.
Rating: 8/10
Living Without is set for release on March 24th via Silent Pendulum Records.
Like ENDLESS, NAMELESS on Facebook.