... COMA WALL / UNDERSMILE "Wood & Wire" (Split-album review)

With their debut album "Narwhal" released last year, Oxford's quatuor UNDERSMILE have revealed themselves as one of the most interesting and audacious new bands coming out from UK for a long long time... Some will argue they're too minimalistic and quickly boring, too much centered on their ladies duo on vocals + guitars, etc... while fans will tell you willingly that the nautical Doom displayed by those despaired lovers is one of the most uncomfortable musical experience they've ever been confronted to within the doom sphere, while one of the most striking and exciting too !!!

And then what can be worth of interest to release a split album with "themselves" ?!!! Indeed, it's a fact that the idea of sharing a split with their acoustic reincarnation of COMA WALL (same line-up) is something that could seem a bit strange and even kinda opportunist for the most embittered commentaries, questions which are quickly swept for anyone who's got a minimum of clear-sightedness...

Each band has 3 songs to assert its identity, own caracters and the opener "Summer" quickly proves that C.W. is not just an unplugged version of Undersmile but more of its transposition in a droney Folk context with a subtle development on melodies and  vocal harmonies, not forgetting Tom's banjo which brings a nice dynamic to the Americana table. Monotony and melancholy are shared in more equal parts to give a bit more brightness to the overall, don't expect to stamp's one foot though.

"You Are My Death" is my fave of the three songs, the way the band succeeds to make this one ambient, peaceful and doomy at the same time, is simply stunning and a real promise of a rosy future...

And then by crossing the sea towards the woods,  did UNDERSMILE enlighten a bit their sound or is it still an asphyxiating, slow and heavy distorted sludge/drone at the programm ? A bit of both in fact, certainly due to the special context of this split and production work of Justin Greaves (Iron Monkey, Electric Wizard...).

It also seems obvious that the actual existence of C.W. serves the original project positively, gaining in strength and substance (I'm thinking here especially about the layered dual vocals which are ultimately developed).
Slightly less monotonous and suffocating than on Narwhal - which leads each song to shorter duration, still very hypnotic, "Soil" is immediately reassuring and can quickly punish curious uninitiated people !

 "Killer Bob" could have easily found its place on their debut, extremely dark and haunting, we find here all the usual elements of the band's sound pushed at their extremities : dreary vocals, agonizing downtuned guitars, rumbling bass, minimal drumming... all infused with that particular sense of oppressive and nightmarish despair which make here again Undersmile sound almost lifeless.

Undersmile surely remains uncomfortable, still not an easy-listening for anyone but those who get excitement and deliverance in painful moods and uncompromising weighty sounds will be delighted again !

All in all, this split album is an overwhelming experience through the creative souls of those 4 british artists, between tormented heaven and painful hell. The challenge was not that easy to overcome but they succeeded beyond my expectations and certainly yours if you already know them... Those who didn't like previous stuff mainly because of too long songs and unbearable oppression should give them a new chance, to let the senses act and give their final approbation...

Release date is 1st April and this is a limited edition 12" - 500 copies on transparent purple vynil with lyric sheet and digital download card :

http://www.shamanrecordings.com/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Coma-Wall/443763845670135

https://www.facebook.com/Undersmile

...COMA WALL / UNDERSMILE ‘Wood & Wire’ – Exclusive Stream, Artwork Revealed & Pre-Orders Now Available !!!

Wood & Wire’ brings together Oxford's monolithic Undersmile and their acoustic alter-ego Coma Wall on one release.

The anticipation is nearly over as today, The Sleeping Shaman, streams an exclusive track taken from the up and coming COMA WALL & UNDERSMILE 12” simply entitled ‘Wood & Wire’, the track ‘Summer’ is taken from the COMA WALL side and can be streamed HERE

Shaman Recordings also announced that Pre-Orders started today and besides the 12”, there’s the option to bundle in a T-Shirt with the COMA WALL / UNDERSMILE ‘Wood & Wire’ logo emblazoned on the front, more information and orders can be placed on the Shaman Recordings website HERE -

And finally, the artwork has also been revealed today which was lovingly crafted by up and coming illustrator Craig Bryant and you can check it out in all its technicolor glory below.

Although this is Coma Wall's debut release, they’ve already gained fans after playing sets at Desertfest 2012 and supporting Dylan Carlson (of Earth) on his first ever solo show. This recording sees the band laid bare – no amps, no fuzz boxes, just acoustic guitars, percussion and a banjo that showcases their own brand of Dark Americana and Doom-Folk in the spirit of the MTV Unplugged sessions.

On the other hand Undersmile, having been endorsed by the likes of Earth's Dylan Carlson and Henry Rollins of Black Flag, are both engaging and crushing, blending numerous influences from Swans to Babes in Toyland to arrive at a genuinely fresh, cohesive, and brutal sound. Their debut album 'Narwhal', released last year by Future Noise Recordings, was met with huge praise from both fans and press alike. For these tracks, the band enlisted the help of Justin Greaves (Iron Monkey, Electric Wizard, Crippled Black Phoenix) to oversee the engineering and his contribution to the recording process helped to further display Undersmile’s diversity and musical growth, as well as their desire to capture a warmer, more ‘live’ sound.

Mastering for both recordings was once again handled by Billy Anderson (Sleep, Neurosis, Melvins) and the amazing artwork was handled by up and coming Illustrator Craig Bryant (www.behance.net/craigbryant).

‘Wood & Wire’ Track listing

Coma Wall

A1. Summer

A2. You Are My Death

A3. Cutter’s Choice

Undersmile

B1. Soil

B2. Killer Bob

B3. Hives

http://www.shamanrecordings.com

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Coma-Wall/443763845670135

http://www.facebook.com/Undersmile

how to make it immensely Heavy, Slow and Oppressive by the amazing UNDERSMILE

If it's already time to start thinking about 2011 "underground metal awards" , I think it's also time to think with delight about some awaited little jewels that 2012's soon gonna reveal... and one of them  is "Narwhal" from UNDERSMILE, a female fronted sludge band that will crush your soul with no fuckin' mercy !!!

Coming from Oxford (UK) and formed in 2009, they are-Tom McKibbin on Drums, Olly Corona-Brown on Bass, Hel Sterne on Vocals and Lead Guitars,Taz Corona-Brown on Vocals and Guitar.

Yes, two girls on vocals and guitars, and despite their grungey look + extreme kindness, you'd better prepare yourself for some extremely dark and oppressive stuff that more than a bunch of guys couldn't even express, a kind of oustanding cross between THE MELVINS, SWANS, EYE HATE GOD and WINTER !

UNDERSMILE have actually released a debut ep in 2010 and a split ep with their post-core mates from CARETAKER (worth to listen to) just a few weeks ago; the debut "a sea of dead snakes" was honestly yet showing an obvious originality but maybe too shortly and easily summarized to the mere presence and place of both Hel and Taz, "undertaker" (the maliciously named split "ep") now presents 2 songs which show a real evolution towards something slower, thicker and definitely more oppressive too.

This is slightly more developped in terms of moods : more intense  and dissonant, colder and gloomier too, while the fantastic vocals duo is more harmonious and reveal more melancholic tones. The extreme heaviness, coldness and slowness make me inevitably think about WINTER, like if UNDERSMILE would be for Sludge what WINTER is for Doom/Death... a band that magnifies the dark and painful through a crushing and beautiful aesthetic heaviness; I love bands like this who have a sincere faith and talent to combine pre-existing elements in a different manner.

I'm impatiently waiting to hear more from UNDERSMILE with “Narwhal” which was recorded this autumn at Studio 101 in Kidlington by Jimmy Hetherington and is currently in the hand of Billy Anderson (Eyehategod, Sleep, Neurosis, The Melvins) for mastering !!! The professionnal conditions will hopefully allow them to blew everything away and explode on the european sludge front ! You have been warned, due to be released on the 9th April by Future Noise (home of UFOMAMMUT, GRIFTER, CHARGER...) "Narwhal" will be one of the highlights of 2012 !!!

https://www.facebook.com/#!/Undersmile

http://undersmile.bandcamp.com/
http://www.future-noise.co.uk/