Sometimes, just sometimes, I can reflect on review for bands that I have been privileged enough to write for Ave Noctum and allow myself to luxuriate and say, ‘I told you so’. And so, it has come to pass, that with this their second album, that Pupil Slicer have managed to do what I said they would do following their lockdown released debut ‘Mirrors’.
Here’s a quote from said review.
‘Overall, this is a very decent effort, that is a brutal and at times, a frighteningly good showcase for an obviously hugely talented band. Once the shackles of their obvious influences have been cast aside (which will happen over time), Pupil Slicer have a very bright future indeed. – (Nick Griffiths – 2020)
I very much enjoyed Mirrors their debut album, but you could tell that Pupil Slicer were no product of a PA agencies brainstorm or of a record label’s ‘blue sky thinking’. No, this is a serious band. So, it’s to these new songs we come, and almost immediately you can sense that the worm has turned. It’s immediately apparent that the band has left behind the genuflection at the altar of bands such as Dillinger, Botch and dozens of other deathcore/noise core etc genre legends and have gone rogue. Now when I say, gone rogue, they haven’t quite thrown out the baby with the bathwater, but simply, have decided to travel down a slightly different road in terms of song writing, everything has stepped up a level. The playing is technically on the nose, with a bass/drum syncopation that will have tech heads who love their Monuments, Forntierer and BTBAM rig rundowns, rubbing their hands together with glee as riff after riff, tumbles down an avalanche of razor-sharp drums and smooth, locked in bass. It’s a powerful tool that is wielded judiciously, so as not to do what other lesser bands within this genre seems almost pre-programmed to do which is to masturbate themselves into a self-congratulatory mess. I hugely admire those that can play well and look on with a well-defined sense of envy at drummer, singers, guitarists who are so very good at what they do. Still, no one needs forty-five minutes of that and if it’s not in service to the song, that it’s all for nowt.
And this is where Blossom, truly arrives. It sees the band pivot from what has come before, but still allows some aspects of their debut to remain, but they have chosen to sprinkle those moments judiciously throughout this album and have curated a musical feast with a with a side order of progressive melancholy, that exists somewhere between Cult Of Luna’s more ethereal moments, before being airlifted off that shipwrecked beach by a black metal blast beat where growled vocals courtesy of the hugely talented Katie Davies segue back and forth with her incongruous gossamer light, clean vocal phrases that shouldn’t work, but really, really do. Blossom’s main highlights are to be found within these songs and moments within songs that signal a very definite choice the band have made to change the DNA of the band by embracing both ends of the heavy scale (and everything in-between) and managing to get them to meet.
There will be naysayers amongst their fan-base, that will not embrace this change, wedded as they are to the band’s former selves and style. It is an obvious and tactical volte face by Pupil Slicer, and I for one, really admire the courage and commitment that the band have shown in what is an album of real surprises and moments of genuine brilliance. Whether their fan-base will be taken along with the band on their voyage of self-discovery, reflection and change remains to be seen, but I think this is a risk that the band have decided is worth taking. The band don’t completely abandon their previous selves, especially on the chugging spitting beast that is ‘No Temple’ which is as brutal, groovy and fruity as it is technically impressive.
This is an album of true intent and character. It’s a challenging listen and one that may take many more listens to fully buy into what the band are seeking to accomplish BUT, in a scene that is often devoid of creativity, risk taking and genuine talent, Pupil Slicer have taken the bull by the horns and have backed themselves with an album of stark contrasts and oblique turns. To come full circle on my last review of the band, the band have moved away from the blunt force trauma of their debut and moved into altogether more interesting territories. I hope that fans realise what the band are trying to do and go on this journey with them. Consider those shackles well and truly cast off.
(9/10 Nick Griffiths)
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