“Wounds that weep and won’t scab over.”
It seemed only yesterday (almost literally) that cybergrind duo bottom surgery frenetically graced our ears with cold summer. Either we are continuing to witness an ungodly pace from individuals vehemently devoted to their anarchic craft, or technological singularity has been realized in the form of Aylce Smith and Stefan Iglesias, who are still as chaotic, panicked, and terminator-adjacent as before in bottom surgery‘s newest endeavor. to tell the truth. is a beam of meshed kinetic macabre spanning a healthily drawn-out fifteen minutes, refusing to exhibit any ounce of contrite demeanor amid a circuit board petri dish of what is seemingly an endless amount of influence. Whatever is in the drinking water in Boston, we need it.
Cybergrind tends to be inherently kitchen-sink, and yet bottom surgery takes that notion to an extreme of their own. Sure, the emoviolence riffs and vocal techniques ranging from proper bree-bree growls to quivering snarls are all accounted for, but it’s the fluctuating hardcore sections and ambient backpeddling that dominate much of the sonic landscape of to tell the truth. “limerence” and “always with you” are indivcative of this, if only to be subservant to the atmospheric lead in “stalker“. bottom surgery have chosen the path of experimentation (more so than usual) on to tell the truth., and it’s paid creative dividends that demand equal attention to each facet despite the highly varied entropy coating every waking second of its runtime.
With the enigma that is “intercourse“, it feels pertinent to remind us of Smith and Iglesias‘ involvement in a vast swath of other projects, several of which deviate heavily from bottom surgery‘s penchant for throwing the screw box into a blender. The hints of pure core string work that comprise the opening portion of “intercourse” could very well be the byproduct of their exploits with Coma Witch and A Year In Black & White, whereas the more post-hardcore sympathetic elements are derived from iwishyoucameback. Whatever the case, the amplified tonnage of bottom surgery‘s battering ram of inspiration spans external and localized domains.
It’s essentially been contractual since bottom surgery‘s first release, but it will become apparent very quickly that this is truly a collection of sound for the modern youth. Every change in tempo and backdrop often feels faster than a hypersonic missile, which is entirely the point. Anyone who has ever dealt with ADHD, ADD, or whatever else boomers denied the existence of for decades will have a field day listening to what Smith and Iglesias continue to formulate. If there is anything capable of triggering each dopamine receptor to fire simultaneously, it’s to tell the truth.
to tell the truth. roots itself in a breaking dam of lyrical emotion. Just as it’s instrumentally architected to appeal to the invigorating adolescence and young adults of today’s generation, just about every conceivable sensation that could be experienced is squeezed into to tell the truth.‘s pandemonious constitution. Feeling anxious, resentful, depressed, relieved, elated, or just plain horny? All the above? You’ve come to the right place. bottom surgery aligns with an ever-volatile mental state and unleashes mayhem unapologetically.
bottom surgery hasn’t just matured as a cybergrind act, but is insistent on pushing boundaries well beyond established genre conventions. There is such a thing as too many skippers sinking the ship, and thankfully, bottom surgery have been content to keep that number at an absolute minimum. This marathon will go on for as long as Smith and Iglesias see fit. Given their stamina with respect to not just bottom surgery, but the myriad of other acts they’re in, it appears only Armageddon could provide any semblance of negation to what’s shaping up to be an incomparable run for the Boston outfit. to tell the truth. is their most ambitious work to date by a lightyear, and probably just the tip of the iceberg for bottom surgery.
9/10
to tell the truth. independently releases on April 10 through all streaming platforms, and is available for pre-order on bottom surgery‘s Bandcamp here.