Gavin Hellyer
Cracking good EP is this. Probably not the happiest record ever made with it's dark gothic utterances, but still fantastic with great vocals and truly phenomenal bass playing. Good shit.
Favorite track: See You.
Deathlist has never not been wildly prolific. The Portland band, founded by former Summer Cannibals bassist (and current Miss Rayon bassist) Jenny Logan, has released two EPs and two LPs in its first two years of existence. Fun, Deathlist’s second full-length exploration of post-punk melancholy, is only a few months old, but Logan is already returning with a follow-up. Due August 24, TRY is a four-song EP that shares its predecessor’s stark mood and disarming honesty while also pushing into new thematic terrain.
Although it was recorded during and shortly after the production of Fun, TRY is neither a collection of B-sides nor a companion piece to the LP. On Fun, Logan contended with the crushing loss of her best friend, and the result was a chilling trip into memory-haunted mourning. TRY is by no means a lighter record, but it is quickened by a sense of agency and power--while Fun was a document of boundless grief beyond one’s control, TRY represents an attempt to draw a line between what exists and what doesn’t, to stand at the edge of being and choose a side.
The Portland Mercury praised Fun for being “challenging, uncomfortable, and completely immersive,” and TRY certainly keeps to this strategy. On opening track “Saved,” Logan lays a serpentine guitar line over drummer Elly Swope’s staggered rhythm and goes in search of the unnameable: “I just want what's coming, I just want to be nothing,” Logan sings.
It doesn’t get any less challenging from there, as Logan goes on to map a mental space where annihilation lingers as a viable alternative to a life constituted by cycles of habit and longing. It somehow stops just short of despair, though. In a way, TRY is a document of empowerment: we choose, in every moment, to continue living. Throughout the brief running time of her new EP, Logan gives the impression that this is how she has decided to stay on this side of existence: to linger at the edge, to sing past it as long as she can.
credits
released August 24, 2018
Recorded in Portland Oregon at Destination: Universe with Victor Nash. Elly Swope played drums // Jenny played everything else
I love this record cause it feels (still) fresh and happy while also raising some contention points with our creator/selves and the social norms around us. Loved it cause of the Audiotree performance. https://youtu.be/S56MZRE4OlA?si=jWkzvRh1joGmtt_k Capitanoiu bogdan
Tense post-punk from Big Supermarket, “1800” threads bent-wire guitars through blinking keys and dead-eyed vocal lines. Bandcamp New & Notable Jul 9, 2018
This split EP from two France-based musicians is a gem, both artists recalling the glory days of slowcore in their heart-tugging melodies. Bandcamp New & Notable Jun 11, 2023
Like someone lit a fire underneath them, this album roars off at speed and never really pauses for breath.
Jessica's guitar continues to be the big draw, as she's just brilliant. Raw and angry.
Their masterpiece. Neil Larrisey