Review/Stream: Unmothered – S/T EP
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OK, this EP from Austin’s Unmothered could have really sucked, but I wouldn’t have ragged on it because there’s a sample from John Carpenter’s Prince Of Darkness right in the first song. Luckily, it doesn’t approach suckiness in the slightest. What it does is incorporate varied influences and song structures into a hefty package of atmospheric sludge with stoner groove tendencies. Jams like “Gravitons” and “Solstice” are rooted in the Mastodon/Led Zeppelin “tight but loose” mold with some wandering guitar lines. The potential to lose the plot is there, but thankfully it never comes to fruition. “The Awakening” is a quick Southern metal swinger, something that wouldn’t be out of place on a Weedeater record.
The guitar tone really gives all the songs character, with loads of reverb and delay that fall somewhere between Nachtmystium, Tombs, and Unsane; it’s a distinctly American melting-pot sound, with decades and innumerable bands to draw inspiration from. But when guitarist Matt Walker (ex-Lions Of Tsavo) wants to drive a point home, as he does halfway through “Spectre”, the chug guns come out and it’s all about the power of the riff. The closer “Trancendor” gets the blood flowing, kind of like when Kylesa wrote better songs. It’s intense, visceral and sounds like it was born to be played in sweaty basement shows and sketchy venues. Speaking of which, hey labels: one of you sign these guys, already. I want to hear this stuff live.
Stream all of the new Unmothered EP below and purchase a copy via Toxic Assets.
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