ALBUM REVIEW: Swarmlife – Delvoid
All the best progressive music works on two levels – accessible and easy to enjoy even when you are not listening intently, but generously rewarding if you dive below the surface and take the time to peel back the layers. This is exactly what Norwegian progressive quartet DELVOID have achieved with their new hour of music Swarmlife, a more direct and organic follow-up to 2016’s Serene whose name aptly described its slower, minimalist ethos.
Right from the opener Techtree the band deliver a good representation of what is to follow by thoughtfully switching up dynamics, building the tension up to a brilliant release before returning once more to a steady atmospheric state. The second track Urras draws you in with a punchy sound that could be described as what you get if you mix SOUNDGARDEN and RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, but crucially have the good taste to not sound anything like AUDIOSLAVE, with its grungy furore interspersed with beautiful post-rock sections.
The production on Swarmlife sounds warm and lively, fitting the Oslo quartet’s intent to switch the focus back to the core elements of their sound. The guitars and bass on the record occupy the full sonic spectrum, rarely playing the exact same thing but rather weaving complementary lines which merit focusing on each individually before zooming back out to appreciate the whole. Underpinning them is the strong percussive backbeat of drummer Espen Th. Granseth, who utilises the full range of sounds offered by his drum kit by clacking onto the metalworks or cooking up a thunderstorm on the lower toms.
Out Of Labour is another epic that impresses with lush folky passages that could be straight from a vintage 70s prog release, until a swirl of ringing guitars and rumbling drums climax into a controlled explosion. By constructing a wall of sound that envelops but does not overwhelm the listener, DELVOID give you the whole tidal cycle of a vast ocean, rather than just the raging stormy seas. Collapsist hypnotises with its polyrhythmic two-note leitmotif, like a pendulum that disobeys gravity to swing like a serpent. Throughout the entirety of Swarmlife, the quartet shifts time signatures and tempos continuously but with fluidity, keeping a constant swing that the listener can latch onto and sway along with. DELVOID do not scream for your attention by throwing the musical kitchen sink at you, but rather they subtly earn it until you can’t help but listen.
Singer Alex M. Delver is not a five-octave dazzler, but his vocals are expressive and effective for the songs, and he varies the styles and range he occupies. He even includes some harsh vocals in Third Body, a song in which the comparison to TOOL – one of the bands that DELVOID themselves admit to “chas[ing] the same whale as” – is particularly apt.
The hour of music is closed by The Master’s House, a 13-minute leviathan that starts out as a psychedelic/stoner rock piece, and rounds off into a vibraphone-led outro which slowly resolves into a long exhale.
While the six songs on the record have an average length of 10 minutes, none of them drag or outstay their welcome. The whole album feels like a coherent journey, unfolding at its own pace and taking not a second longer or shorter than it needs to. With Swarmlife, DELVOID have created a confident creative statement that could deservedly claim them a place as one of the most exciting bands in the genre right now.
Rating: 8/10
Swarmlife is out now via Banditt Media.
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