ALBUM REVIEW: Objects Without Pain – Great Falls

GREAT FALLS are a three-piece noise rock outfit from Seattle creating some of the most raucous atmospheres in the genre. From inducing terror to making sure every particle in a room is violently shaking, their fourth outing Objects Without Pain provokes and provides transcendent sonic atmospheres that are more than just songs to be kept within their time stamps. As a bonus, the trio open the record with a goliath nine-minute track Dragged Home Alive which does nothing less than exude pure dread. The long form taster of Objects Without Pain will likely help you decide whether the record is going to be for you or not.

Tracks that are more bitesize, by GREAT FALLS standards at least, like Trap Feeding and Born As An Argument are blistering endeavours with the sole purpose of being relentless. Amongst the dense haze of their rage, they’re much more than that initial anger. Objects Without Pain feels a lot like a LA DISPUTE album in how the narrative approaches trauma with the balance of heaviness and tender moments. The practice truly shines on the closing track Thrown Against The Waves because it has so much time to evolve into different forms, a realisation of betrayal and losing love for someone, with the pain saturating everything it approaches. The realness of that narrative is what separates the songwriting of GREAT FALLS from so many others.

One thing in particular that sticks out whilst listening to this album is the violence that lives inside it. At times it’s near overwhelming but if that’s something you can embrace then this record could stand out as a favourite for you. Objects Without Pain can be quite the weight on your shoulders as you listen to it, the dark topics aren’t for the faint of heart to indulge in, but to not appreciate all of its nuance would be a mistake. It can be seamless and abrupt to keep you on your toes. It’s a large undertaking to be able to pour yourself into an artistic outlet, GREAT FALLS pour the toughest parts of all three of them to create an unforgettable 53 minutes of listening material. Seattle should count itself lucky, because this can only sound better in the flesh where you will truly come to know what GREAT FALLS are all about.

Rating: 7/10

Objects Without Pain is out now via Neurot Recordings.

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