Emma Ruth Rundle – Engine Of Hell
(Sargent House)
It’s been five years since Emma Ruth Rundle floored me with the hauntingly beautiful ‘Marked For Death‘ LP. Since then, the Portland based singer/songwriter has continued to dazzle us with another faultless full length and of course last year’s incredibly crushing collaboration with alt-metal mavericks Thou.
Just when you think your heart can’t get anymore full of admiration for this unfathomable talent, we get ‘Engine Of Hell‘. To my mind, this is the record I thought we might have coming and one that I was ready to embrace. Recorded late last year, her fifth album was recorded live with minimal overdubs using only piano, guitar and voice. As a result, this is Emma Ruth Rundle at her most personal, stripped back and raw.
The atmosphere is instant, as Emma gently croons on piano driven opener ‘Return‘ and I feel like I’m sitting next to her on the stool with ASMR levels of closeness. It is impossible to not be enraptured by these performances and its live approach only intensifies the intimacy of these songs. It’s clear to me that Emma Ruth Rundle is defining the end of an era, discussing past memories and repressed feelings to unburden herself and move forward.
‘The Company‘ is a gorgeous duet between piano and guitar about finding beauty of the self, while ‘In My Afterlife‘ takes a deep, poetic look into the great beyond, almost acting as the death of her former self and the birth of a new outlook.
I was once told that it’s our imperfections that make us perfect and I think it stands true when trying to sum up ‘Engine Of Hell‘. There is definitely something profoundly punk rock in making a record with few musical components and letting emotion and humanity fill up its sonic depths. On top of this, Emma is an awe inspiring songwriter with a voice that demands complete attention and songcraft chops to die for.
I’ve said that all it takes for greatness is a good voice and good songs and I remember thinking to myself that Emma Ruth Rundle’s style would completely benefit in a purely acoustic environment. Needless to say, ‘Engine Of Hell‘ is a stunning piece of work, one to guide through these dark, cold nights in the hope of leading to somewhere bright and warm.
Gnod – La Mort Du Sens
(Rocket Recordings)
Though this is musically the complete opposite of the previous record, there are still equal levels of depth and intensity to be had on this new long playing effort from Salford based collective Gnod. We’ve had a few releases in the three years since the last Gnod album, but in terms of a proper record, 2018’s ‘Chapel Perilous‘ felt like an even more expansive trip into Gnod’s ever psychedelic experiments. But to me, ‘La Mort Du Sens‘ leans on the more urgent, noise rock stylings of 2017’s gargantuan ‘Just Say No to the Psycho Right-Wing Capitalist Fascist Industrial Death Machine‘.
With the music recorded in a mill somewhere in Manchester at the back of 2019, ‘La Mort Du Sens‘ was completed last year with most of the vocal sessions taking place over lockdown. As expected, this is a record brimming with this ‘what the actual fuck is going on‘ attitude, as we cascade through seething vocals, walls of fuzzy guitars and an ever urgent rhythmic section.
‘Regimental‘ is a relentless opener, with a kraut like sense of repetitiveness melodically, but often building to explosions of noise which charges you instantly for this total half hour of power. ‘Pink Champagne Blues‘ takes it up a notch further still with a stonking fuzz rock riff that ascends into a full on punk break out, which offers the same blistering energy that made me fall head over heels for bands like Blacklisters and USA Nails.
Though my favourite thing about Gnod is when they go full noise punk, there are some brilliantly sculpted psych passages to be had, from the hypnotic rhythms of ‘The Whip And The Tongue‘ to the mind bending closing of ‘Giro Day‘. This is not only an excellent way to finish a record, but it’s also an extremely good display of Gnod’s many components, as we are thrown into 12 minutes of noise, kraut, prog and sludge. ‘La Mort Du Sens‘ manages to be a tight and more realised set from Gnod, while still going above and beyond to alter your brain. Another total white knuckled rager from a North West staple.
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