It’s a damn demo – so automatically look past its aesthetic rough edges. What’s left? The tightest, most promising slab of mathy metal to appear locally in years. Keep your eyes peeled for Smooth Sailing to be making some serious waves very soon. I’m calling it right now – opening band for the Dillinger Escape Plan in no time. That is, if they don’t all suffer massive brain hemorrhages from pushing the limits of the human hardware past unheard of boundaries of speed, finesse and brutality.
Usually I’m not much of a fan of female metal singers (just like I’m not a fan of male trip-hop singers, you get my drift) but Ubik is clearly an exception. They are just as good as Jefferson Airplane circa ’67 mashed up with Tool circa ’97 and I’m not kidding. This album builds, shreds, spaces-out, breathes, crushes and more. A great listen cover to cover. Oh, Ubik sports dual bass players, too. Check that shit. Word on the street is a new album in the works, so let’s hear it already!
Easily the finest ten minutes you will spend near a turntable in 2010, this spiffy pink vinyl split finds the two finest vocalists to come out of Seattle’s hardcore scene doing what they do best because godammit they invented it. Johnny P. and Dave V. on the same piece of wax is a thing of true beauty. These guys may have pulled back a little from the legendary acts that they once fronted, but both Narrows and Heiress are pushing new boundaries of atonal sonic mutilation. Let me also say that Deathwish is one hell of a classy company, anything I order from them is practically on my doorstep the second I click ‘buy’.
Words by Matt Abramson
Great reviews Matt!
ReplyDeleteI can totally see Smooth Sailing opening up for Dillinger....and I can totally see their reaction being like Animals as Leaders was when they opened up for them. By the end of the night, more people were talking about them then Dillinger Escape Plan.