THE SWORD
Gods of the Earth
(Kemado)
1/2
The Sword didn’t reinvent the wheel with their debut album, Age
of Winters, they just polished it down and made it more efficient.
They took the foundations of classic ’70s rock and modernized them,
sped them up, made them gallop. They embraced the element of fantasy,
singing about mythical creatures and epic battles, preaching mightily
to the nerd inside us all. They managed to forge something original
from fundamental aspects of rock and metal, and by doing so they gained
power and respect.
Winters catapulted the band from opening act to headliners
selling out shows in the span of a year, even landing them a song on
Guitar Hero. Needless to say, the Sword have a lot to live up
to with their sophomore album—they’re poised to become one of the
biggest metal acts in the country if they just stay the course.
And if there’s one thing Gods of the Earth succeeds in,
it’s staying the course. Their second release dutifully follows, but
never manages to surpass, the niche carved by Age of Winters.
The heavily distorted riffs are huge; the songs are epic and brutal,
with lyrics about axes and frost giants. The production purposefully
lacks the slick sheen of Scandinavian metal, opting instead for a
thicker, burlier sound. The single “Fire Lances of the Ancient
Hyperzephyrians” sounds like early Metallica scoring the movie
Wizards. The climbing riff of “Under the Boughs” might have
originally existed as a boss theme in the original NES Contra.
Something somewhere is being conquered with every song.
It’s a tough, solid release, but Gods lacks the element of
surprise. Their debut heralded a forceful new sound in the metal scene;
their follow-up sounds like their debut. It’s a smart, safe move for
the band, but it’s nothing new for hardened fans. The Sword have found
their trademark sound; they’ve polished their wheel. Now they’re seeing
how far they can roll it.
JEFF KIRBY
The Sword play Tues April 22 at Neumo’s, 7 pm, $10,
all
ages. With Slough Feg
and Children.
FUCK BUTTONS
Street Horrrsing
(ATP)
Readers of The Stranger‘s music section know I
love a good swear, so Bristol noise/electronics duo Fuck Buttons, like
similarly minded experimental potty-mouths Holy Fuck, have a leg up
with me. But where Holy Fuck opt
for prog grooves and
self-oscillating crescendos, Fuck Buttons dial their knobs in for long
ambient drones, hysterical screaming muffled by static, and steady
industrial churn broken by occasional rhythmic pulse or live
percussion. Amid all that potentially alienating action, Fuck Buttons
display a surprisingly sweet sense of tone and tune.
“Sweet Love for Planet Earth” opens the album with a tinkling
rainfall of piano, then adds lapping waves of fuzzed-out synth before
unsettling things with some distorted background ranting. At under four
minutes, “Ribs Out” is half as long as any of the album’s other tracks,
an interlude of spooky, whinnying vocal echo and surround-sound jungle
drumming. “Okay Let’s Talk About Magic” and “Race You to the
Bedroom/Spirit Rise” form the album’s central suite, two songs of
harshly shining synths that unfurl in undulating, overlapping layers
around some garbled walkie-talkie chatter. “Bright Tomorrow,” the
album’s breakout single, temporarily trades the Wolf Eyes vocal howl
and Black Dice noise for a 4/4 kick, gentle organ chords, and a
backward-slipping synth line more reminiscent of the Field’s carefully
constructed trance. But the respite is temporary. The latter half of
the track dissolves into distorted white noise, giving way to the
tribal-drumming
daybreak comedown of “Colours Move.”
Clocking in at just under 50 minutes, Street Horrrsing‘s
six tracks are, for the most part, spacious and slow, hypnotic and
immersive. Noisy and bristling at first, by the time the album ends,
you’re acclimated to its sonic environment. The ensuing silence is
disorienting, like when you finally take off a pair of heavy roller
skates and it feels like you’re walking on air.
ERIC GRANDY
Fuck Buttons play Sun April 20 at Chop Suey, 8 pm, $12, 21+.
With Caribou.
BRAILLE
The IV Edition
(Syntax)
In the beginning, sparks fly from Braille’s The IV Edition like an incoming air strike. Stomping bass drums from producer Ohmega
Watts rattle “Beautiful Humanity” as Braille raps, “Start it like this,
son, they can’t shine like this one/Lyrics in my head and I’m about to
spit some.” Best of all is “Calculated Risk,” where K-Otix from the Are
flips a wheedling teakettle melody straight out of “Public Enemy No. 1”
over a droll yet funky bass line. “I want to rock right now, come on!”
Braille shouts as the percussion hits hard, driving the song to
climax.
In all, the Portland, Oregon, rapper uses 17 producers for as many
tracks on his aptly titled fourth album. An intensely spiritual man, he
makes constant references to his Christian beliefs in speaking about
his life (“Blessed Man” and “Remember Your Path”). Stridently
opinionated, he challenges the world around him to fit his moral
compass. “Understand who made the man before man made the man,” he raps
on “Constantly Growing” as DJ Spinna’s beat echoes and vibrates around
him. “The greatest change of your life will happen within you.”
Braille designs The IV Edition as a tour de force, a
summary thesis after years spent toiling in the Northwest underground,
both as a solo artist and one-third of Lightheaded (along with the
aforementioned
Ohmega Watts and Othello). He overstuffs it with
producers, guest stars, and high-handed concepts, and pads it with
uneven, repetitive songs that may overwhelm even his most ardent fans.
Braille may be too ambitious, but his enthusiasm makes for
a
compelling and chaotic album. MOSI REEVES
Braille plays Thurs April 17 at Nectar Lounge, 9 pm, $10
(includes a copy of The IV Edition), 21+. With Pigeon
John, Ohmega Watts,
Theory Hazit.
Fighter
Mage
Thief
Cleric