ALBUM REVIEW: Self-Tape – MouthBreather
The Massachusetts four-piece MOUTHBREATHER are on their fourth record in seven years; since forming in 2016, they’ve peddled what they bill as a mix of THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, FRONTIERER and VEIN.FM, and their latest album Self-Tape threatens to up the ante as well by being inspired by numerous films, particularly horror. Arguably this time around their influences certainly skew more towards the more modern VEIN.FM side of things – not just in the horror aesthetics or lyricism, but in the band’s embracing of nu-metal to a greater degree, with relatively less chaos than might be expected of the other two bands.
It kicks off with Ethical Hunting, one of the first songs released as a single; it’s very much in the nu-metal vein, a rapid vocal delivery and the chugging groove you’d expect of bands like GRAPHIC NATURE or KORN. The dual vocals vie for attention atop one another, which is a little disorienting at first or when trying to follow the fast delivery, but works for creating the hostile atmosphere they’re going for. Imaginary Skin is inspired by the New French Extremity film Martyrs, with visceral descriptions of skin carving amidst the cacophony, though the glitching breakdown doesn’t quite seem to stick.
Elsewhere, Shotgun Funeral draws on The Notebook, though feels at odds with the former’s tale of love, especially in its screeching feedback. It’s a frantic, desperate clawing at the walls for meaning, a deeply unsettling look into the overarching theme of a mind unravelling. iDoctor and Rot Out continue the abrasive, sandpaper-to-skin use of feedback, a bouncing SLIPKNOT-esque pairing that delve into violent, abstract lyricism. MOUTHBREATHER are almost trying to tell two separate stories through a third medium, and while it’s certainly ambitious, it doesn’t always live up to its promise, though it’s certainly not for lack of trying.
Rather, it’s that while being clearly influenced by bands like FRONTIERER, they don’t make the most of those djentier, more angular rhythms, instead sticking to hardcore-flecked nu-metal. It means that there’s an unfortunate tendency for Self-Tape to feel like it runs on a bit long, despite the quality of the songs overall and the fact it actually isn’t that long an album. At a taut 22 minutes with a bit of change, Self-Tape doesn’t mess around or indulge in fatty filler; but that means it’s all the more baffling when songs feel a little dragging, like I Know Best and iDoctor that sit around the relatively sprawling three-minute mark.
In spite of this, MOUTHBREATHER have created a furious tale of mental decline and unravelling, the majority of which is a bludgeoning, thrilling ride through trauma explored by movies from horrors to drama. It’s ambitious, heavy, and disturbing stuff whose principal crime is that for as good as it is, there’s clearly even more promise lurking beneath the surface that might just make them unstoppable if they can tap into it.
Rating: 7/10
Self-Tape is set for release on November 10th via Good Fight Music.
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