Review of Swærmmm - Γ

First spin of this did absolutely nothing for me. Second one pissed me off. Third one clicked.

Not even in a “now I get it” way. More like I stopped trying to make sense of where the songs were going and just let the whole thing hit however it wanted to. That helped.

Γ is all over the damn place. Hardcore punk, grind, mathcore, death metal, noise - sure, all that’s there - but it’s less about genre and more about impact. Stuff keeps colliding. Riffs show up for ten seconds and get chopped off. Drums flip patterns constantly. Sometimes it sounds like somebody dropped the master tape and glued it back together drunk.

And somehow it still moves.

That’s the weird thing.

There’s parts in here that reminded me of hearing Calculating Infinity for the first time years ago, when you couldn’t tell if the band were geniuses or just completely out of control. Same feeling. That nervous “what the fuck is this doing now?” energy.

But Swærmmm aren’t doing Dillinger worship. Too ugly for that. Too twitchy.

There’s this rotten little tension sitting underneath the whole EP. Even when the songs back off for a moment, it never feels safe. Feels like waiting for somebody to throw a chair through a window.

Vocals sound wrecked. Properly wrecked. Like they were recorded at the edge of a breakdown instead of a studio booth. Fits the music.

I had this on again late last night and caught myself rewinding parts without even thinking about it. That usually tells me more than a clean first impression ever could.

Strange record.

Nasty one too.

Sure 4 our of 5 to me!

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