ALBUM REVIEW: Smile Less – Throat

Smile Less. It’s hardly the cheeriest album name – or instruction – you’re likely to hear this year. Then again, it definitely feels like an apt title for the third full-length from the Finnish noise rock four-piece THROAT. If you’re looking for something light and joyful, this record’s 38 minutes and seven tracks aren’t the place. What you will find here however is a bleak mix of post-punk, industrial, noise and more that’s sure to please anyone with a particularly grim or miserable streak.

By THROAT’s own admission “the light at the end of the tunnel has always been dim” in their music. Even so, for this record they’ve leant into even darker territory than usual. Opening track Conveyer Line shows us exactly what they mean by that as it rumbles into life with a driving sense of post-punk menace. It’s a great opener which goes on to draw comparisons from NICK CAVE to NEUROSIS over a near seven-minute runtime. Grounding after it is similarly dour, albeit more dissonant and angular than its predecessor. On it, the band’s guitarist and vocalist Jukka Mattila declares “No good can happen here/This ain’t that kind of place,” and as listeners we’re inclined to believe him.

The quality isn’t lacking for a second on these opening tracks – quite the opposite in fact. That said, it still feels like a good decision when THROAT kick into something more energetic for third track Shots. This is more in line with the band’s previous output, and more urgent and raucous than the opening one-two. There’s definitely a live-ready sense of bounce here, and even something vaguely resembling catchiness towards the track’s end. Crucially, it highlights the band’s strong command of variation and flow which helps make Smile Less such a captivating listen.

Deadpan follows Shots and returns us to more dour post-punk territory, this time interspersed with bursts of abrasive noise. After that, fifth track Home Is Where Your Hurt Is shows THROAT at their absolute nastiest. This piece combines sharp drum stabs with straining synths and electronics to evoke the likes of DAUGHTERS, or even CLIPPING. without the rapping, for a full and punishing eight minutes. Mattila again cuts a particularly bleak figure, informing his listeners “There’s nothing for you here.” Much like the rest of the record, the production is also especially impressive. It walks a fine line between a raw grittiness and a cold, bleak feel – both of which suit the music perfectly.

While Home Is… is definitely as oppressive as Smile Less gets, there’s no question this album is pretty consistent hard work. It will definitely be too much for some, as this kind of thing almost always is. Fortunately for their listeners however, and unlike many bands of their ilk, THROAT don’t devote all their efforts to sonic torture. For example, sixth track Vanilla Cuts gives things another sensible energy lift. Much like Shots, this harks back to the more ‘accessible’ (inverted commas essential) noise rock sound of Smile Less‘ predecessors. It’s a cool, driving piece, and makes for a definite highlight amid an album of invariable quality.

The standard is similarly high for the album’s seventh and closing track Hospice. This opens with a simple menacing bass part beneath noisy guitars before kicking into something typically bleak and rumbling. THROAT aren’t done with the surprises just yet either. Around the two minute mark, they allow Mattila to show off even more of his impressive range with a grand and melodic clean vocal chorus of sorts. After this, the track returns to its opening bassline, descending into a cacophony of obtuse noise over its final few minutes.

While 38 minutes is by no means a long runtime for a record, it is impressive how well THROAT make Smile Less feel even shorter. This is even more true considering how dark and bleak this album often is. The way the band achieve this is no doubt a combination of the quality of what’s on offer and their impressive ability to keep things varied and interesting. Of course, a smile feels a wholly inappropriate response to this record, but those of us partial to anything particularly noisy or nasty will probably at least have cracked a grin by the time THROAT are through with us.

Rating: 8/10

Smile Less is out now via Svart Records.

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