Dog Knights Productions – 18 Mar 2022
And I thought I didn’t even like screamo.
I’ll be the first to admit that I am not the biggest fan of screamo. I’m not directly criticizing the genre, but it just ain’t really my bag. So for a band in that particular vein to come in and make an impression on me, there’s got to be something special there. I’m here to tell you that UK’s Chalk Hands does that, and does it well on their new album Don’t Think About Death.
The band’s press kit describes them as screamo/post-rock, but I would’ve really leaned hard on dropping the associated “math rock” label into that mix, as the band certainly has a lot of the trappings of that sibling genre. What Chalk Hands excel at are moments of light, breezy music counter-balanced by moments of fury. Like one would expect, there are many stops and starts, hiccups in the rhythm, and sudden and drastic changes to the melody and form; not just from ethereal to brutal and back, but often from one airy ambience to another. It’s hard not to appreciate the craftsmanship put into these songs.
It helps that the songs just sound good, as well. The guitars aren’t over-distorted and are the right volume, which lets the bass and drums create a nice solid layer. Too much of the former or not enough of the latter and the sonic values of this could easily have been ruined. The vocals are also mixed in with a slight hollowness, as if screamed from 20-30 feet away, which adds a surprising effect considering so much screamo tends to overplay the “scream” part over most anything else.
The album clocks in at just a bit over 35 minutes but, bear in mind, with eight songs, there’s a bit of a disparity: six of the tracks weigh in at 4m30s and up (OK, one is 4m29s and the rest are 5m+) while the other two come in at 2m30s or less. This actually works in their favor, as it is possible that too many lengthy tracks can wear down the listener. As it stands, the two shorter songs, “Teeth & Nails” and “Les Jours Passent Et Ne Me Ressemblent Pas”, serve as a bit of an intermission. This isn’t to say that they aren’t good songs, but they show that Chalk Hands can do as much with little as they do with more.
True to the “post rock” descriptor, Don’t Think About Death definitely rests a lot on the instrumentality of the band. Towards the end of the album the penultimate, title track is almost entirely instrumental, with a bare bit of vocals (from seemingly even farther away then before), and the closer “The Bridge” is entirely instrumental and, a bit of a surprise, compositionally quite a bit different from the rest of the album.
So what’s there not to like? Well, not much if you can sit back and appreciate this but, I’ll admit, it’s definitely not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. Those who aren’t into things like screamo, post-rock, or math rock may find many aspects of this to be deal-breakers. For some, the constant changes, stops/starts, and all that jazz means nothing close to a formulaic music experience. If you ever find yourself listening to a band and asking why they just can’t play the same song from beginning to end, then this is probably not for you.
But if you can get past that and open your ears, this album is a damn treat from beginning to end. I could listen to the bass and percussion by themselves for hours on end, but add on the guitars and vocals build a castle upon that foundation that is awfully impressive.
the white drew carey (aka – Jeff Sorley) is the founder and head editor of TGEFM. He’s lived (outside of) Chicago, Madison WI, (ugh) Penn State, Lyon FR, Oxford UK, central New Jersey, and now within earshot of SFO in the Bay Area. When not scouring the web for more great bands and labels to post about, he also spends time drawing (mostly) silly sci-fi and anime stuff under the name Asplenia Studios.
