Drowningman
“Still Love You” EP
(Equal Vision)
Drowningman embraces music like they’re trying to throttle it into a tangible melody. We’ll scream at it. We’ll pound it out. We’ll hold it up, then throw into the nearest, hardest surface. Then we’ll sing an apology for treating it so harshly. Drowningman songs have a certain bruised element, like their hopes and ambitions and drive would dictate a lighter approach, but things keep getting edgy and shouts break out often. This EP seems noticeably less abrasive than their “Rock and Roll Killing Machine” release. “The Unbearable Burden Of Always Being Right” shows how the band can almost put three songs into one without making it sound like patchwork. “Weighted and Weighed Down” comes screaming and cracking in with familiar intensity if you are familiar with their previous work. Some spine-plucking guitars in that same song even bring in some subtle System Of A Down comparisons, but the overall approach is an abused emocore band that will probably fight you for calling them that. But I guess that’s what the kids are calling indie rock that screams a lot nowadays. An angry Hum meets Fugazi and they are all hanging out with Glassjaw. Generic enough comparisons? Stamp me black label.
