Drainland “And So Our Troubles Began” 12”

"And So Our Troubles Began" is a new six-song 12" EP (co-released by Headwrecker Records, De Graanrepubliek, and IFB Records) that marks my first exposure to Dublin, Ireland's Drainland. The band cites some of their primary influences as Dystopia, Cattlepress, Unruh, and Godflesh, and you can definitely hear that in their approach—which reminds me of a somewhat stripped down Dystopia with some of that loose, noisy guitar work you'd associate with Godflesh's earlier work. Expect a multi-vocal attack over loads of churning riffs where gnarled, dissonant guitars interact with massive pulses of sludgy bass in the form of everything from slow, pounding rhythms to quick bursts of grinding speed. And then there's also "The Scouring Process", which comes across as more of a surprisingly effective two-minute assault of power electronics. Part of me wishes the recording was a little more blatantly heavy and in your face, but at the same time the rugged sense of space they've got going on here does allow for some nice flourishes of texture, so it does add character aesthetically. I'm really diggin' this. The songwriting is strong, the diversity makes sense, and the overall feeling/atmosphere is right on the money. Great work, and I look forward to hearing more...

Drainland "Limb Template"

Pick it up directly from the band or one of the labels if you like what you hear, and look for more distro options (Crucial Blast, etc.) soon.

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Drainland
De Graanrepubliek