“So I scream my worries to strangers.“
Great Falls is a grand name that fits the band’s home landscape of Seattle – one might picture a towering waterfall splashing into an azure sea, but the cosy atmosphere begins and ends there. Great Falls deliver anguished noise rock with claustrophobic intensity. It’s screamo with little emphasis on the “emo(tive)” aspect, and much on the “scream”. Objects Without Pain is their first release with Neurot Recordings, finally lodging the group together with class acts like Amenra and Kowloon Walled City.
“Dragged Home Alive” is the cardiac-arresting start the record deserves. The bass and vocal intro only hint at the oncoming intensity, as a whole different song launches at the 2:30 mark. Guitarist/singer Demian Johnston wails “there is no escape from this place / this is no mistake” as the walls close in. It’s one of the record’s three long tracks, though the flow of the album is so good that even the shorter songs feel titanic and inter-weaved. Much of the padding between songs is pure noise, grinding away at with bass and mid static to give you no break.
Lyrically, Objects Without Pain is particularly potent, describing intense mental struggles of someone on the edge, alongside their mundane, domestic day-to-day life. On “Born as an Argument”, Johnston’s protagonist is either imaging a future, or looking back upon their life, after passing: “feeding the pets / hanging our art / kid’s doing homework / top of their class / grab my ashes / walk to the trees / scatter them out”. The track’s melodic bridge samples some clean vocals briefly, transitioning smoothly into “Old Words Worn Thin”, a sluggish track that merits the “post metal” descriptor with its hefty angular riffs and tom grooves. At the six minute mark it contains the objectively highest volume the band reaches so far, where the timing gets loose and all members treat their instruments as kindling.
Side two offers no remorse: “Spill Into The Aisle” briefly channels Pallbearer for its slow guitar solo outro. “Ceilings Inch Closer” brings circle pit drumming to noise rock, and enough space to hear the crispy bass in the verses. “The Starveling” strays into slightly clean vocals momentarily, which might make for some reprieve if not for the deranged instrumental that accompanies it. Later, a tense segment reminds me of noise actWhite Suns with surprise snare stabs, incidental guitar noise, and 4th wall breaking lyrics (“(so) I scream my / worries / to strangers / what passing / comment will / haunt you”). The final epic “Thrown Against The Waves” owes its long runtime to a long and stumbling bridge that creeps closer and closer to the album’s final throes.
I do think a comparison to Thou is both fitting and worthy of Great Falls (they did do a split together in 2015 after all). Despite working with few sonic ideas – essentially distortion pedals, dry screams, and dependable riffs – they have constructed some thoroughly memorable songs here. As even the quiet moments are built on discomfort, Objects Without Pain asks a lot from its listeners, and admittedly it’s thus hard to spin if you aren’t in the right state of mind. That’s the only thing holding me back from a stronger recommendation here, so take it on if you dare, and don’t pass up the chance to see them do it live.
7/10
Objects Without Pain will release on the 15th September through Neurot Recordings and can be pre-ordered here or here.