DREAMVIOLENCE

Emerald Weapon

Street: 04.30

BAMBARA = The Birthday Party + Soul-Crusher–era White Zombie + Swans

I’ve compared BAMBARA to some music I really enjoy, but somehow they manage to make these familiar sounds seem fresh—rather than like the series of cues for cred-points often heard in modern variations on this kind of music. Not to say that this record doesn’t sound like anything else—the amount of reverb and aggressive tension on DREAMVIOLENCE is comparable to Swans’ The Great Annihilator. However, it is impressive in the way that something can be when it hits you at all the right points, despite any familiarity.

The enthusiasm in the performance is palpable. “Breaker” is a pretty perfect representation of this record’s aesthetic. It’s not so much a consistent barrage of noise and the kind of sound a blood spurt might make if electrified mid-flight, as it is a textured wave going from crashing to creeping with balanced dexterity—demonstrating a great sense of physicality and the band’s understanding of calm space. –T.H.