Albums

Album Review: These Arms Are Snakes

[Album: Tail Swallower And Dove]
[Label: Suicide Squeeze]

Formed from the ashes of mathcore mentalists Botch and post-hardcore’s Kill Sadie, Seattle-based These Arms Are Snakes throw the immovable object against the unstoppable force, as scorching punk unpredictability meets post-rock riffage, deep within dark languishing walls of noise. This is their third album release and it comes after a two-year gap during which the band have honed their stagecraft and songwriting skills and they have now developed into a force to be reckoned with.

We begin at the beginning with ‘Woolen Heirs’; a deep, cantankerous snarl of an opener. The guitars form the rise and fall heavy-breathing of an unwanted caller, slowly switching between chords, unfurling a lascivious low-end driven quality. ’Prince Squid’ changes tack, taking on the form of a wayward, bitchy punk; hard to pin down, volatile and ultimately explosive. Two tracks that set up the glorious ‘Red Line Season’ with it’s Pelican-esque guitar hook swimming inside a sea of sass. It’s the beating heart centrepiece and everything revolves around it. ‘Ethric Double’ is a multi-faceted and deeply-textured heavyweight, pitted with psychotic imagery - “Small lakes. They pour out of my lungs. Down to feed tones in holes of the depleted roots of the ground dug by relics in tombs.”

The second half of the album isn’t quite as distinctive or memorable. ‘Seven Curtains’ recycles parts of its predecessor whilst ‘Long And Lonely Step’ gets rather stuck in the mud. They’re indicative of the pattern that continues through the Verve-esque ’Lead Beater’ and the sugar-candy pop licks of ‘Cavity Carousel’ - rather unbecoming of the band to revel in their own wackiness instead of concentrating on the quality of the song. ‘Briggs’, however, simply cannot be faulted, enthralling as it does from the opening chimed strings to the final minute-long dispersal bell-pealing.

The band are about to bring the full force of this fragmented fury on a two-month long tour of Europe supporting Russian Circles. This reviewer suggests you find yourself a spot and set your face to “stunned” because when they shine they are blinding.

For Fans Of: Minus The Bear, Blood Brothers, Russian Circles

Band Link:
These Arms Are Snakes

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