ALBUM REVIEW: Rattle – Wailin Storms
Having released a couple of EPs and two previous albums, WAILIN STORMS have a decent understanding of what they want to make in their music. The specific brand of southern rock inspired doom melds with a huge fusion of other genres, resulting in their latest effort, Rattle.
Title track Rattle sets the scene with droning strings and ethereal wailing. There’s a threat of something huge underneath, but WAILIN STORMS take their time and build into some stoic, atmospheric rock. If you can imagine THE DOORS with a complete repaint job, that’s what you can expect with the introduction of this track. However, this isn’t a carbon copy of psychedelic sounds. It’s got a feeling of NICK CAGE, MARS RED SKY and OM in there, all filled with a potential to get weird and dark.
Rope has a more desperate and deranged feel to it, a much more LED ZEPPELIN on a really bad trip. The drums are relentless, percussion coming from all angles as modulated droning sings down and up, it’s got a big punk feel, to the point of becoming a little monotonous in places.
A haunting reverberation of the vocals welcomes us to Grass, that demands we go down another dark and wild path. This feels like being stuck out in long grass in the dead of night, not sure where to look or what you’re going to find. It’s beautiful, but consistently unsettling, not least with the shrieking vocals making for some great atmosphere over the bends and wailing of the melody. It’s as melancholy as you could want, with a big mouth and a lot to say.
To be plummeted into the quiet of Wish after the previous track feels like a trap, not least with such an imposing bass dragging you in, and alien synth and acoustic nuances you can’t pun down making everything feel like a terrifying bad dream. WAILIN STORMS allows this album to really breath, and this is a clear example of how the more subdued approach, a heavy doom influence here has really made this track shine in its final moments where things are pushed for that gainy, fuzzy, hi-octane climax.
If surf rock and punk ever decided to merge with grunge and doom, Teeth is what would be the product. The bounce is incredibly present, and feels like a perversion on the uplifting feel of the first two aforementioned genres. It’s probably the most unusual track on Rattle, with shuffling drums and a constant tonal shift between one moment and the next. It’s wonderfully inventive, dramatic and great fun from its start to its end.
Sun is definitely a more punk homage to bands like QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE and KYUSS. There’s a very simple, enjoyable feeling to this one, that it’s got its quirks and its consistent motion as of old school punk, but is much sleazier and nastier. It’s not looking to offend the senses; it’s using the tropes of that solid punk sound to create something deliciously more akin to desert rock.
Another quiet start for penultimate track Crow, atmospheric and doomy. The bass is one more here to create the bulk of the tension, but the dreamlike melody in both guitar and vocals whirrs up and down, teasing more to come, but dampening down and building anticipation. At almost six minutes, Crow has the most time to be experimental and lament on certain themes, the vocals really adding a primal vibe to the flourishing, wavering rhythms and melodic lines. It’s a tumble down the rabbit hole, and make no mistake, it’s a dark one.
Aptly named, the final song on the record is End has a sombre melancholy to it, but something bittersweet to the churning, dissonant guitars that grate and clash, before simmering down and melding into the pattering drums. This is the most emotionally charged track, much softer in places and in others, heart-achingly loud; a track of utter despair and contempt and loneliness.
Rattle is for sure a record for those who enjoy savouring the build-up and tension of every song. What’s unleashed as a reward for bearing that suppression is some great blending of punk, doom and psychedelia. There’s a lot of nuance and deliberate construction doing on to make such a heavy, emotional album that really likes to be loud and expressive. The valiant heart of WAILIN STORMS is true and raring to batter down their deepest loneliness, their darkest despairs and their lowest torments.
Rating: 7/10
Rattle is out on May 15th via Gilead Media.
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