“I guess this is goodbye.”
deathcrash are one of the most exciting UK bands to gain traction during the early 2020s. Perhaps it’s no surprise that a slowcore project would find resonance in that era, especially one with an affinity for variety. Return flirted with post, noise, emo, and indie sounds to make a massive and gloriously uneven album, and it’s still a treasure trove that hasn’t lost its magnetism. This album fit neatly alongside much of the ‘Windmill scene’ – guitar music doing things differently and being exciting once again – and the associated online buzz feels nostalgic by now.
To get through a potential sophomore slump, they took their recording session to the Scottish Outer Hebrides and quickly dropped Less. This was a more focused, disciplined record with no weak moments, somewhat lacking the ‘cutting room floor’ charm of the debut. These two records have set them for a few years of regular tours, including some prized spots with The Jesus and Mary Chain and Have a Nice Life. Somersaults is therefore long-awaited, and with so many directions their sound could go, there are some nerves as we settle into their next release. Like an analogue photo, the true charm of deathcrash’s music requires careful study and context that the beholder must bring. They really only play with straightforward rock sounds, just quieter and more patiently than they should – the question is, can we still feel the magic?
Opener “Somersalts” lulls us in with gently delayed guitar harmonics and Tiernan Banks’ dejected whisper-vocals. His performance is slacker rock meets Received Pronunciation; charming for some, especially fans of early Black Country, New Road’s early work, but lands flat in my ears. The production and songwriting puts this voice centre stage, which is ill-fitting for deathcrash, whose true appeal has always been in the vocals sounding as vulnerable as its audience feels. This approach goes on to hurt the album, as it is much more focused on these vocals than before, replete with hooks it wants you to hum back (“this is shy town all the way”). “Somersaults” develops by adding layers one by one: dry drums, safe guitar melodies, vocal duets and gentle keys. As each part is added, there is no moment it overflows. It’s like peeling back wallpaper and discovering fifty years of poor taste.
The mark is also missed on the next two tracks. “NYC” is an alt rock lullaby, charged up with guitar leads that a band of this type could only consider ironic. It’s worthy of a head nod or two when the distortion kicks in, but little more than that. The lyrics, which mull whether one’s early life is truly well spent in a band, inspire little pity when the band doesn’t feel at their best. The sampling of what sounds like an office scanner on “CMC” is an unfortunate choice, as this is the last kind of boredom that deathcrash should be invoking. However, as the verses develop and the deep grind of strings rings through the choruses, something special begins to gather.
The softer aspects of deathcrash are the focus on Somersaults, so when the band kicks into any form of overdrive, it does prick up the ears. “Triumph” is a great piece, realising their vision for ‘standard’ indie tracks through an inventive chorus structure. Synth sounds from off the beaten path enter at odd times, and the lines between the different sections are diffuse; it all scratches at the uneven nature of their first record. “Bella” follows and is another successful track with glorious detail within its guitars. These tracks both end sharply, an unfair cutoff that feels well within deathcrash’s remit. Although the lead vocals rarely spark much joy, the Midwest emo style backing vocals certainly do, giving life to “Bella”, “Stay Forever”, and “Love For M”.
deathcrash have always been so very good on their longer tracks, with memorable pieces on Less and inarguably their best work on the first record with songs like “American Metal” and “Doomcrash”. On Somersaults “The Thing You Did” is the sole ‘epic’, and it’s another masterclass in slowcore from the band. In the slow moments, each pause the musicians take is tense, and when it’s heavy the guitar patterns are unanticipated, drawing you in. After the introduction falls away, Bank’s vocals start to land perfectly, with a goosebump-inducing refrain that you might read on a poke tattoo within the next year (“I long to hear you calling me”). A killer riff creeps in under these vocals, building to a cathartic conclusion like nothing else on Somersaults. As the drums finish early and the guitars continue to ring out, the feeling sets in that this is one of their strongest tracks to date. By comparison, the following track “Wrong To Suffer” is the record’s shortest, returning to the asymmetric charm of all of Return’s little ditties (though a gloriously irrelevant voice sample would hit so, so good in moments like this). The run of strength lets up slightly as Somersault comes to land, with “Marie’s Last Dance” lacking in heartbreak it aims for.
The virality of the ‘Windmill scene’ has long since waned. This is no shame on any of its (likely repentant) constituents – it’s always been an awkward definition, largely applied after-the-fact by people who got bored with putting ‘post’ in front of every genre name. Still, it’s true that its key bands have significantly changed their formats, for often unfortunate reasons. On Somersaults, deathcrash have somewhat but not dramatically changed, and that’s a comfort to appreciate in and of itself. What the band have emphasised here feels like a step backwards, or at least a step towards nothing remarkable. It feels fickle to recommend skipping the first few tracks, but longtime fans might genuinely be better off doing so. deathcrash’s qualities are still here; you just have to squint a little more to see them.
6/10
Somersaults releases on the 27th February through untitled (recs) and can be pre-ordered here.