American messy rock band The Casket Girls have a new EP coming out shortly so it’s worthwhile reviewing the EP that brought them to my attention – the raucous “S/T”.
“Universal Language” showcases the messy and muddy nature of their rock. The guitars are tuned into fuzzy blurs, the drums are distorted through noise machines to add grit, and the keyboards feel like they are being filtered through a klaxon. It sounds harsh to the hear and at times it is but the vocals are layered in a floaty way that calms some of the harshness down. The track itself feels like it’s mid breakdown and everything is hanging by a lazy, swinging thread. “Unforgetting” gets this mood perfectly as voice and keyboard fuse together to create a celestial rock car crash. It loops itself around a central loop to oblivion and I’m utterly caught in its web. Tech grunge has rarely been so good.
“Best Bet” is a short whirlwind of keyboards and bass bursts as the vocals swirl back and forth through time. It’s a strange piece that feels really full, but doesn’t really go anywhere – but I still enjoy listening to it. “The Bloodstone” is all about the fuzzy organs that play throughout the track. It has a ethereal vibe to it which is completely at odds with the crunchy drums. The vocals over the EP transition to lazy moans to some really well placed angelic melodies and its here where they play that out best. However, for pure rock – it’s all about the closer “Shadow of a Shadow” which has a giant guitar riff that’s smashed down to a buzzline and loads of additional vocal treatment that gives a slightly demonic, white noize ghost vibe to the entire track. It’s dripping in atmosphere and that’s a great way to rock out.
It’s not a hard sell to wave a banner around The Casket Girls as they use plenty of tech to make a varied and strange grungy rock EP sound amazing. The songs stand up in their own right though and it’s a fantastic release to launch a career from because their palette of sound is so vast. So begins the excitement to future burials!