Nothing – Tired of Tomorrow
The meaning of the album lies in the lyrics – it is an existential crisis of an album, offset by seemingly upbeat, which are tinged with an alt-rock energy. The band’s history would form the perfect ingredients for a gritty punk-rock band: lead singer and guitarist Dominic Palermo spent two years in jail for stabbing someone at a show and was recently jumped on at a gig, suffering brain trauma as a consequence. The trauma and violence of the past reverberates through the album in the desperately punishing lyrics and melodies; in a strange way it is oddly consoling.
Pulsating drums open the record with Fever Queen, but this is not a feature of all of the tracks. Exploding drums and piercing electric guitars are used with some reservation, making moments when they are used more impactful, as if the power of the band’s energy cannot be communicated through words alone. The lyrics are poetic and made more so by the melancholic, whispering voice of the lead singer. They communicate anxiety, images of death, decomposition, boredom, isolation and disease. Life is a nightmare in Nineteen Ninety Heaven, elsewhere humans are made of “blood and semen/piss and shit”. Vocals are at the foreground; Palermo’s voice seems louder than ever before – this is what takes the album out of the realm of classic shoegaze. You cannot stare at the floor; it forces you to look up at the world.
In Our Plague, the image of “watercolour fingers” speaks for the album’s composition as a whole, with beats, melodies and themes merging into each other in a grey, faded palette. Tracks that stand out include Nineteen Ninety Heaven (featuring Petal’s Kiley Lotz), Our Plague and Tired of Tomorrow, incorporating strings, piano and varied sonic textures, which tackle the album’s themes with maturity.
After several listens, its power can be fully appreciated. Tired of Tomorrow is passionate, melodic and melancholy, whilst also combing rock elements – heavy drums and shrieking guitars. Dominic Palermo never shrieks, his vocals are cool and collected throughout, and it is this that makes the album different, hypnotic and devastating.
Georgie Cowan-Turner
Tired of Tomorrow is released on 13th May 2016, for further information or to order the album visit here.
Watch the video for Vertigo Flowers here
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