ALBUM REVIEW: Watchwinders – Coilguns
The Swiss quartet COILGUNS have been making raucous noise since 2011 often blending and clashing punky beats with post hardcore and electronic genres. They are all from the post hardcore outfit THE OCEAN but there is much more to this experimental substance to COILGUNS which makes for interesting listen for post-metal, punk and even indie fans alike.
Due to time restraints which the band state is what Watchwinders is all about, self-written, engineered, mixed and produced in a single month. But is it a rushed job or an experimental masterpiece with 12 songs crammed in to a forty minute forty second play time.
Shortcut explodes into life with pounding drums from the obsessive talent of Luc Hess which remain the persistent back bone, almost like a ticking time bomb to match the theme of the album and the shrill and eccentric vocals of Louis Jucker are jarring against the simple but powerful beat. Starting with a discordant but tightly controlled chaotic mess of noisy punky vibes Subculture Encryptors has a darkness creeping into the sporadic down tuned riffs and synths which clash with the urgent and manic drumming surging the music forward through a torrid sci-fi soundscape with a sense of impending doom.
Big Writers Block has hints of blackened guitar notes and Jucker‘s vocals have a fiercer rawness and there are even a few blast beats thrown in amongst the indie/art/pop vibe reminiscent of AT THE DRIVE-IN. Erratic but persistent drums flow into The Growing Block View where the poignancy and anthemic-like lyrics continue along with a background of plenty of sustain but the drums are yet again the hero.
Being so drum heavy with screeching guitars and shrieking vocals full of attitude, Watchwinders is suggestive of DEATH FROM ABOVE 1979. The chorus has a sing along quality with repetitive and poignant lyrics set to a galloping rhythm and is similar to the catchiness of the hooks and lyrics of the much more repressed and anguished The Growing Block View. Manicheans starts off with sludgy riffage juxtaposed against the piercing howls of Jucker whereas, just to change up the tone, Prioress has a sombre feel with post-metal drawn out chords where the drumming subsides for the first half before descending into chaos as they kick back in.
The Morning Shower shakes it up with a frantic surging onwards rhythm, throughout the whole album the drums are the powerful backbone with every note hard hit and technical drum rolls aplenty often clash against the hectic guitar riffs and vocals but keep in perfect time. Calming the chaos once again A Mirror Bias starts with gentle strumming acoustic guitars and minor chords with subtle vocals which fade out before the engine is revved up again with d-beat drumming and frenzied shouts in Urban Reserves which is possibly the most intense song on the album.
Broken Records has the most post-hardcore vibe with tremolo-ing riffs in a long intro but the jarring howling and screaming adds that extra raw and piercing dynamic. At just over five minutes long Periscope brings Watchwinders to a close in with almost NEUROSIS like dark intro and much more subdued vocals and sustained guitar notes. It’s questionable whether it is the best closer to such an energetic album but in the context of the race against time and finally slowing down seems an apt conclusion.
Watchwinders is riddled with anguish, hyperactivity and anxiety like an organised mess that’s been destroyed but carefully pieced back together. It mixes a plethora of contrasting genres to create a creative and innovative album. Much more experimental and electro than last year’s Millennials, they don’t stray far from the theme of time running out and almost conjure the image of a frantic rabbit who is late running around in panic.
Rating: 8/10
Watchwinders is out now via Hummus Records.
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