Style: Post/Shoegaze (Clean vocals)
Review by: Callum
Country: United States (Washington, DC)
Release date: October 1, 2020
The timing for the sophomore release of DC’s Bound is surely not accidental. The once brightly coloured leaves of autumn are dead and rotting on the cold, wet ground, Halloween is around the corner, and the season of haunting is underway. What better time of year to gaze at your shoes among the leaves and revisit memories of childhood, friends, illness, grief? Haunts captures this mood from the outset, and to great effect. It’s an unsettling, yet oddly reassuring, twisting collection of vignettes from the band members’ lives brought to life through crushing walls of noise and shimmering guitars, synth, and stirring clean vocals.
Despite the 46 minute runtime, the depressive mood throughout the album makes it seem like hours have passed. This is not to say that the record is monotonous or dull. In fact, the dynamism between soft crooning, tension building, tempo changes, and cathartic peaks give each track a refreshing and unique identity. “The Ward” is a prime example of these dynamics as well executed transitions organically shift the mood, as if in a dream sequence, and turns anthemic by the end. Discordant vocals over glittery guitar chords create an uneasy atmosphere in “The Divide,” which resolves with the encouraging and eerie chant to ‘focus on the end.’ In “The Last Time We Were All Together” the aforementioned elements as well as some ghostly accordion synth build to an almost unbearable pressure.
The record is circular in that the fading chimes of the finale “The Known Elsewhere” bleed back into “The Bellows,” which is thematically fitting but also encourages repeat listens that are rewarding. There are easter eggs hidden within each song as the band used specific percussive objects from the places each song reflects to create personalised sounds carefully tucked in among the other instruments. These are noticeable at the beginning of “The Field of Stones” and the end of “The Small Things Forgotten” for example. While the significance of these objects is unknown to the listener, they ground the recordings in reality while also adding a certain ethereal mystery.
Haunts is extremely well constructed and well paced. The music successfully evokes feelings of nostalgia and time lost, and the layering of instruments and percussion to achieve this is unique, allowing Bound to stand out from other gloomy post-rock contemporaries. The singular element that I find unfortunately distracts from the experience is the ever-present vocal vibrato. Perhaps this is an artistic decision in keeping with the ghostly theme, perhaps this is just how Bryan Buchanan has learned to sing. Regardless, this record is a major achievement to only be the band’s second release, and an essential pick to get lost in for some moody introspection.
Recommended tracks: The Ward, The Last Time We Were All Together, The Small Things Forgotten
Recommended for fans of: Jesu, Caspian, Holy Fawn
Final verdict: 8/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
Labels: Jetsam-Flotsam – Bandcamp | Website | Facebook
Diehard Skeleton Records – Website | Facebook
Bound is:
Kotu Bajaj (bass)
Bryan Buchanan (guitars, vocals)
Trish Harris (synths, vocals)
Dan Richardson (drums, electronics)
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