When it comes to generating a confrontational, oppressive atmosphere on record, there is more than one way to skin a cat. Take the metallers whose doomy riffs are so heavy as to take physical form, the rapper who refuses to conform to percussive mores or the industrial band who drive home that one pneumatic drum sample until the cracks appear in the listener’s skull.
Take Meat Wave’s ‘The Incessant’, an album well stocked with melodies and quick-witted guitar lines that nevertheless weighs on the mind like the blackest of moods before making good on its promise to punch through to the other side. Recorded with Steve Albini, no stranger to keeping guitar bands’ sharp edges intact, it’s an example of a group continuing to use emotional writing not as a bolt on to their sound but as a component that drives each creative decision.
Taking its name from the fog of anxiety and overwhelming sense of hopelessness that enveloped vocalist and guitarist Chris Sutter following the end of a 12 year relationship (quite literally half his life), ‘The Incessant’ is meticulously constructed to create not only that sense of unease but also cut off escape routes at every turn by pressing home recurring lines and motifs.
When it does finally break clear, with the acoustic outro to its final song, Killing The Incessant, its long form catch-and-release comes into focus.
But for much of its running time, it’s too pointed and visceral an experience for the bricks and mortar beneath its rough exterior to factor into the conversation. As demonstrated on the excellent ‘Delusion Moon’, they have a way with a hook and aren’t afraid to deploy them opposite difficult sentiments. Take the opening song, To Be Swayed, where the monotonous repetition of the title gives way to a boisterous chorus moments after Sutter sings “when alone for just one second sink to the basement of the sea”.
The self-reflection here is presented as necessary and, eventually, rewarding but it’s not pretty. That’s the reality of the situation and Meat Wave don’t see much use in dressing it up any differently. Sutter drops moments of relief into the equation - see Run You Out’s references to sunlight - but he also revels in no-win, abject imagery on Glass Teeth: “All sense is lost. Illusionist with the glass teeth, afraid they'll break on me so I don't show ‘em off.” That the song, ever so briefly, becomes breezy three minutes into its running time is instructive.
The central conceit of ‘The Incessant’ is presented as all consuming until, right at the end, it isn’t anymore. “Here's to killing the Incessant,” Sutter sings. “I don't need it.” What happens next is unclear, and Meat Wave are too honest to leave us thinking that it’s all smiles and laughter from here on, but the fact they manage to bloody up their feelings in return is a welcome relief.
Meat Wave Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Fri April 21 2017 - BRIGHTON Joker
Sat April 22 2017 - NOTTINGHAM Stuck On A Name
Mon April 24 2017 - CARDIFF Clwb Ifor Bach
Tue April 25 2017 - BIRMINGHAM Flapper
Wed April 26 2017 - LEEDS Brudenell Social Club Games Room
Thu April 27 2017 - GLASGOW Hug and Pint
Fri April 28 2017 - NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE Hit The North
Sat April 29 2017 - LIVERPOOL Studio 2
Mon May 01 2017 - GUILDFORD Boileroom
Tue May 02 2017 - LONDON Birthdays
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