The Best of September 2021

A little bit of hip-hop, a little bit of folk, and the sounds of a bygone social media platform make up the best releases of September. 

Injury Reserve - By the Time I Get to Phoenix

Self-released

Looking at the discussion surrounding the new Injury Reserve album results in a fascinating combination of words; intense, terrifying, unique, tremendous, visceral, and raw. Overall, the most consistent sentiment about the album is “this is unlike anything I’ve ever heard in my life,” and that’s a fair assessment. After losing their friend and bandmate Stepa J. Groggs in 2020, By the Time I Get to Phoenix sees what’s left of Injury Reserve grappling with their grief in a public, album-length forum. The record is stuttery, disorienting, and heavy; all valid encapsulations of sorrow from a group who has lost someone close enough to be considered family. 

Eichlers - OHMYGOD

Self-released

I usually don’t write about singles in these roundups, but “OHMYGOD” is simply that good. Additionally, this article is the September new music roundup, but this song was technically released on the last day of August, so basically I’m breaking rules left and right just so I can write about how rad Eichlers is. Here’s the one-word pitch: Hyperska. That term is precisely what it sounds like; a bubbly mixture of hyperpop and ska music, both genres which have been surging in popularity over the last few years. Eichlers combines these two disparate sounds to great effect over the course of this two-minute banger. The vocals convey a sort of “what the fuck” relatability over a blink-182 guitar tone and electronic drums. Thirty seconds in and a series of upstrokes lead to a hyperpop build that sounds like Dylan Brady’s long-lost brother made it. It’s pretty much everything I love in one place.

Dormer. - Dormer.

Lossleader Records

Since I’m already breaking self-imposed rules, I’m also going to use this space to write about the excellent self-titled record from Dormer, which was released at the tail end of August. Dormer is the solo project of Charlie Berger, who is also a member of the shoegaze band Slowly and the dark dreampop band With Hidden Noise. Berger self-describes the project as “slowcore-inspired… sounds maybe like if Duster, Shipping News, early Death Cab, and slower Pedro The Lion songs had a baby… then that baby went on to make low-key music that very people listened to.” If that self-effacing pastiche of cuffed-up 90s indie rock doesn’t sell you, then I don’t know what will. Dormer. is a winding and listless album in the best way possible. The songs transfix and unfurl over three- and four-minute stretches that never wear out their welcome but all work towards constructing a singular, mystifying world. 

Sincere Engineer - Bless My Psyche

Hopeless Records

Deanna Belos initially rose to prominence within the Chicago music scene as a solo acoustic act. After years of house shows and bar gigs, she released Rhombithian in 2017, and Sincere Engineer unveiled itself to the broader music world as a fully formed band worthy of nothing less than absolute adoration. Buoyed by Belos’ unmistakable one-of-a-kind voice, the project weaved relatable tales of alcohol dependency, corndog dinners, and general fuck-upery. Each song dripped with hooks and catchy guitar. The lyrics were an unabashed portrayal of snow-covered life in Chicago that felt like a direct accompaniment to Retirement Party’s Somewhat Literate. Four years later, Sincere Engineer has solidified into a consistent lineup, and the group’s sophomore album takes all of those winning elements from their debut and re-formulates them into something totally standalone. Marginally less punky than their last LP, Bless My Psyche uses a fresh range of sounds as the backdrop for these ultra-relatable tales. Even if seven of the album’s eleven songs were released as singles in the lead-up to its release, it’s just a joy to have another 30 minutes to spend in Belos’ presence, wallowing in your screw-ups together. 

5ever - Forever

Many Hats Distribution

Do you remember MySpace? Remember getting random friend requests from bands spamming your account trying to convert you into a fan? What about the garish neon-covered HTML pages? Can you picture the endless sea of identical swoopy haircuts and Devil Wears Prada wannabes? Well, 5ever remembers. Not only do the Boston-based rockers remember, but they’re here to salvage the best parts of that era and revive them into something new. With a name based on a decade-old copypasta and song titles like “H.A.G.S,” it’s clear that the band knows their audience here. Lead single “Champagne” is a perfect introductory crash course to the shimmering bubblegum-flavored pop-punk sounds of the EP. These pop sensibilities eventually fold in on themselves, mounting in post-hardcore sentiments on “KACHING!” Forever manages to salvage some of the most admirable bits of artistry from an (arguably) dark era in music, making for an 18-minute time capsule that’s as potent as a scented gel pen. 

Common Sage - It Lives and It Breathes

No Sleep Records

Last year Common Sage released the abstrusely-titled Might as Well Eat the Chicken, We Won't Be Here in the Morning. If I’m being honest, it felt like pretty standard emo fare, but the EP must have done something right because in the time since it’s release, the group has signed to No Sleep Records and is now hitting back with the phenomenal It Live and It Breathes. Easing up on the emo roughage, the group’s sophomore effort melds the dynamic scale of TWIABP with the ultra-distressed 90s-tinged approach of bands like Sunny Day Real Estate. Songs grow and contract into sprawling epics of overwrought feelings and whiplash from lazy Sunday country to fist-balling punk at a moment’s notice. The instrumentals fit together nicely, coming across as rounded off and more approachable than the group’s previous work. Basically, everything fits together wonderfully, resulting in what is sure to be one of the most slept-on emo-adjacent releases of the year. 

Sufjan Stevens & Angelo De Augustine - A Beginner’s Mind

Asthmatic Kitty Records

There are no two ways about it; I’m a Sufjan Boy. I literally run an entire separate blog dedicated solely to the man’s Christmas Music. While it sometimes feels as if I am legally obligated to consume everything he creates, that doesn’t mean I love it all. Occasionally, Sufjan gets too electronic or too meandering for my taste, but I’m always eager to see what he does next. A Beginner’s Mind sees my folk daddy teaming up with labelmate Angelo De Augustine for a collaborative concept album where each song is based on a different movie. Sometimes our singers place themselves in the shoes of a character; other times, they analyze the filmic events from an omnipotent distance. This leads to a Planetarium-level of commitment to conceptuality where the tales are allowed to be a little more personal and way less cosmic. This narrative thrust combined with the throwback to a more somber Seven Swans era of “Sadboy Indie Folk” results in what is easily my favorite Sufjan release since 2015’s Carrie & Lowell. 

Shortly - Dancer

Triple Crown Records

When I first saw Shortly in 2018, the band was just Alexandria Maniak standing alone on a stage with a guitar and a mic. She was first-up opening for Aaron West & The Roaring Twenties, and the crowd was rapt. I emerged from that set a die-hard Shortly fan but was disappointed to find she only had two publicly-released songs at the time. In the years since, Maniak has rounded out the project with a talented band, released an EP titled Richmond, and played probably more gigs than any rational person could keep track of. Dancer, Shortly’s debut full-length on Triple Crown Records, is a synthesis of everything learned along the way. It’s an album-length journey into the hard feelings, unique relationships, and unforgettable people that make life worth pushing through. 

Quick Hits

If you’re looking for even more thoughts on the past month of music, we also published full reviews for the new albums from Jail Socks, Big Vic, and Colleen Green. We also wrote about the incredible new single from Greet Death. Finally, here’s a playlist of my favorite song off of every new release (and single) I listened to during the month of September. 

My Most Anticipated Albums of Fall 2021

We’re entering the final quarter of the year, and, spoiler alert: most of your favorite blogs already have their album of the year selected. Not me, though. I have some favorites, obviously, but when I think about my Album Of The Year 2021, it’s still anyone’s game in my mind. 

On some level, it’s easy to get swept up in end-of-the-year festivities and opt-out of the constant swirl of new music, so I wanted to give a little preemptive roundup of all the records still to be released this year that I’m excited about. These albums range in scope from heavy hitters of the indie world like My Morning Jacket and Snail Mail to up-and-coming acts that everyone should be tracking like Snarls and Illuminati Hotties. In other words, I hope you find something new here, or at the very least something to be excited about, because there’s still lots of 2021 left. 

---

Explosions In The Sky - Big Bend (An Original Soundtrack or Public Television) (October 1st)
The post-rock stalwarts are back with another soundtrack, this time for a new nature documentary from PBS titled Big Bend: The Wild Frontier of Texas. As someone who has spent their summer hiking the mountains of Colorado, I look forward to this record soundtracking my last few hikes of the season before things turn too wintery. 

Hovvdy - True Love (October 1st)
Simply put, Hovvdy are masters of fall music. Their last record, Heavy Lifter, was an inventive indie rock album that perfectly captures the languid, slow-paced feeling of the season. It’s moody, vibey, inward, and perfect for late nights as the weather gets colder. The four singles released thus far have been absolutely stunning, so I can’t wait to see what the whole album sounds like. 

illuminati hotties - Let Me Do One More (October 1st)
Pool-hopping season may be over, but that fact won’t crush the indomitable spirit of Sarah Tudzin. The “tenderpunk” pioneer is back with another album-length collection of vivacious songs that I expect will counteract the dark days of autumn. 

The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die - Illusory Walls (October 8th)
The fourth-wave emo figureheads return with an epic collection of tracks grappling with a society in decay. Whether taking on a proggy post-hardcore tone or more of an open-ended Broken Social Scene approach, this record is shaping up to be something career-defining. 

Kevin Morby - ​​A Night At The Little Los Angeles (October 8th)
2020’s Sundowner was a flawless fall record. Now, Kevin Morby looks to recreate that success by revisiting the album with a pack of 4​-​Track demos recorded for the project. Hopefully an even more stripped-down version of the record, I look forward to hearing songs like “Campfire” in an even more intimate environment. 

Virginity - PopMortem (October 15th)
Each year, Florida rockers Virginity outdo themselves. 2019’s With Time is a personable emo record with hooks for days. 2020’s Death to the Party upped the ante with even more ferocious performances and relatable lyrics. Based on this trend, PopMortem is set to be the band’s new gold standard. 

My Morning Jacket - My Morning Jacket (October 22nd)
The first new My Morning Jacket LP in-earnest since 2015’s The Waterfall, the group’s eponymous release is set to be a monument to their two-decade-plus career as some of the most wholesome alt-rockers in the music scene. 

Trace Mountains - House of Confusion (October 22nd)
Over the course of his last two albums, Trace Mountains has evolved from bedroom country-light into fully-fledged indie rock. Dave Benton may not have the audience I feel he deserves, but watching his sound, production, and musical ideas evolve over the last few years has been immensely rewarding. His newest album is said to be a darker, earthier counterpart to last year’s Lost In the Country.

Spirit Was - Heaven’s Just a Cloud (October 22nd)
In his newest solo project, the ex-LVL UP member combines hearty folk sounds with Sunbather-level black metal. This album is probably the one thing I’m most excited about in the rest of 2021 due sheerly to its potential to be uniquely “my shit.” 

Every Time I Die - Radical (October 22nd)
Every Time I Die is back, and it’s time to punch something. Crafting some of the most finely produced metal I’ve heard in ages, Radical looks to be an assemblage of bottled-up rage that’s been mounting for the last few years. A single cathartic outpouring that’s long overdue. 

Parquet Courts  - Sympathy for Life (October 22nd)
Parquet Courts seem to have let their last album do the talking. In the time since 2018’s Wide Awake, we’ve seen fascism, racism, inequality, and death all on a steady rise; all things the band predicted on that sixth album. Where they will go next is anyone’s guess, but I’d wager we will look back on Sympathy for Life in a few year’s time in awe of how prescient it was. 

Angel Du$t - Yak: A Collection of Truck Songs (October 22nd)
Once a hardcore band, now just a band, Angel Du$t aren’t afraid to challenge preconceived notions. Throughout their eight-year career, the supergroup has evolved from Turnstile-indebted hardcore to wildly inventive indie rock. It’s a pivot so flawless that even the most coked-up hardcore bro will have a hard time denying it. Get ready to dance your rage out.

The War on Drugs - I Don’t Live Here Anymore (October 29th)
The modern heartland rock kings return with their newest collection of songs. Seemingly continuing the somber approach of 2017’s A Deeper Understanding, Adam Granduciel and company seem to be crafting a record designed to soundtrack the indigo-colored sunsets and amber-tinted afternoons of late fall. 

Minus the Bear - Farewell (October 29th)
My favorite band from high school (one I saw live half-a-dozen times before I could even drive) is releasing a career-spanning live album. Captured on the band’s final tour in 2018, I simply cannot wait to revisit my final two hours spent with the band as they hit all my favorite songs from a decade-spanning career—a true gift. 

Save Face - Another Kill For the Highlight Reel (October 29th)
New Jersey-based shredders Save Face are unleashing their newest collection of songs on the world this fall. Fittingly releasing in the days before Halloween, the Skeleton-adorned and blood-encrusted record is likely the closest thing we will get to a new My Chemical Romance album, so drink it up, get spooky, and rock out. 

Snail Mail - Valentine (November 5th)
The long-awaited follow-up to 2016’s Lush is almost upon us. Initially heralded as a teenage savant, Lindsey Jordan was poised to be the “next voice” of indie rock music. She’s spent the intervening half-decade touring, discovering herself, and enjoying the final stretch of her teenage years. Valentine will likely be a synthesis of all those experiences and emotions. It will also likely be the soundtrack to your crush’s Instagram Stories for years to come. 

Radiohead - Kid A Mnesia (November 9th)
Sorry, but I love Radiohead. A box set of Kid A and Amnesiac is necessary. It may not be my favorite era of the band, but many people look back on this period of Radiohead as their best. Much like OKNOTOK, I’m eager to hear the songs left off the records and experience an overindulgent celebration of all the demos and recordings that missed the cut on these landmark alternative albums. 

Delta Sleep - Spring Island (November 12th)
A mathy combination of TTNG and Minus the Bear, Delta Sleep look at the world through a naturalistic lens and then filter those observations through prog-tinted indie rock. The band’s first album in three years, Spring Island, is building off the rubble of Ghost Cities into something more organic and awe-inspired. 

Snarls - What About Flowers? (November 12th)
If there were any justice in this world, Snarls would have been the biggest band of all time by the end of 2020. At the beginning of the ill-fated year, the group released Burst, a stunning collection of songs that felt primed for the mainstream… then the rest of the year happened. Rather than get dragged down, the group rallied and recorded What About Flowers?, an EP designed to reignite the spark that they’ve been patiently waiting on for nearly two years. With any luck, by this time next year, they will have the listenership they have always deserved. 

Courtney Barnett - Things Take Time, Take Time (November 12th)
The iconic Australian rocker returns from the shadows of 2018’s Tell Me How You Really Feel with an album that sounds more deliberately laid-back and easy-going. An excellent reminder to take things at your own pace and that good things will come in time. 

Ovlov - Buds (November 19th)
The Connecticut shoegazers are back with their first record since 2018’s Tru. While members have dropped other projects under the names Stove, Pet Fox, and Smile Machine, the group has announced their reformation in earnest with “Land of Steve-O,” a stunning signal of the album to come.

My 200 Favorite Songs of All Time

At the end of last year, this site rounded the corner on 150 total articles published. Once I hit that milestone, it immediately felt as if my 200th article loomed right around the corner. I had started to post more regularly than ever before, and running this website felt like a relatively healthy hobby to commit to during a global pandemic. At the onset of this year, I also made a resolution to post at least one article a week throughout 2021, and I’m proud to say I’ve kept that up all year, more or less. 

Also around this same time, I hatched a grand idea for my 200th article on this site to be a ranking of my top 200 songs of all time. I wanted to do full-paragraph write-ups for each song, articulating exactly what I loved about them on both a personal and musical level. I tried to start that piece a few times over the last year, but the idea was simply too overwhelming for me even to begin to genuinely chip away at.

However, what I have done over the last year is create an iTunes playlist of all my favorite songs. I’ve been updating and scrutinizing this list with some level of regularity, so it feels like a relatively complete reflection of who I am in 2021. Obviously, I couldn’t quite find the time to write about all 200 tracks, but I realized that if I was going to have them all collected somewhere, I might as well make it somewhere public. 

This isn’t a traditional post where I wax poetic for thousands of words. Instead, I celebrate Swim Into The Sound’s 200th post in a manner that’s very un-like Swim Into The Sound. At the bottom of this article, you’ll find a Spotify playlist featuring 200 of my favorite songs of all time... Err, well, more like 198 of my favorite songs, because neither “Weak Man, Weak Boy” or “Waltz of the Sea Wolf” are on Spotify. This playlist is in “reverse chronological order,” with my favorite songs up top. While I’m listing asterisks, I’d also like to caution that this playlist gets decidedly less ranked as it goes on. 

If you’re interested in reading about some of these songs in more detail, I wrote about my fifteen favorites back in 2019 for the site’s 100th post. That article approaches the topic in a manner that’s more befitting of this blog; long adoration-filled paragraphs about pieces of music that are very near and dear to my heart.

Even though this post is not the ornate 200-song-long write-up I first envisioned, it’s is still a celebration. Two hundred articles is a monumental achievement in my mind because it just feels so big–each hundred does. I still remember naming my first document in Google Drive and using the format “001” because I thought I would never pass 1,000. It’s not like I’m close now, but I at least understand what that quantity feels like.

This is also a celebration because I genuinely believe in everything that gets posted here. I have poured unquantifiable hours into each of the 199 posts that proceeded this one. This blog may seem amateurish or overly earnest at times, but it’s genuine to me, and that’s what I care about most. 

So thank you for reading this. Thank you if you’ve ever read Swim Into The Sound before, and thank you even more if you read the site regularly. 

Thank you if you’ve contributed to the site as a guest writer, said something nice on social media, or worked with me in any capacity. It all adds up, and every single piece of support means the world to me.

Running this site is genuinely one of the highlights of my life, and I thank you for being a part of it.

Thank you for coming along, and thank you for caring. 

Greet Death – I Hate Everything | Single Review

New misanthropy anthem just dropped!

Michigan shoegazers Greet Death have returned with “I Hate Everything,” their first single since 2019’s New Hell. The track is more of a changeup than a curveball; gone are the soul-crushing of the guitars and bass of their previous songs, in their place are gently strummed acoustic chords and faint drum patterns. There’s still a sick guitar solo, but even it feels restrained in comparison to the soaring solos of songs like “You’re Gonna Hate What You’ve Done.”

When I listen to “I Hate Everything,” I can’t help but think of “Crush,” the penultimate song on New Hell. Both tracks have an almost pop-like quality while still featuring some of the band’s most dour lyrics. “Crush” is a tranquil little diddy propped up by a gorgeous slide guitar motif as Logan Gaval sings of a heartbreak that has him fantasizing “different ways [his] body could die.” Sonically, the song is soft and gentle, yet lyrically, the content is nothing short of arresting. It serves as a sort of palette cleanser for New Hell, priming the lister for the punishing ten-minute title track that comes in its wake. 

Much like “Crush,” “I Hate Everything” doesn’t need to be loud to make itself heard. Sam Boyhtari acts as the song’s storyteller, laying out the mundane existence of a functioning depressive. Boyhtari’s lyrics and delivery sound like Andy Shauf making a Songs: Ohia record; clear and conversational, but incredibly dark. He’s getting wasted on Thursdays, sitting in meetings, and taking pictures of dead birds on the street. It’s a sad and lonely life, but in many ways, it’s not too different from what a lot of people are going through. Being depressed doesn’t make someone unique, but everyone’s depression is unique to them. You can traverse through a seemingly normal life and still be in immense pain; it’s not an either-or situation.

I know my analysis of the song might feel like a lot, so I want to make it clear that I love “I Hate Everything.” I love Greet Death’s colossal sound, but what makes their music truly special is that it is so validating. Life really fucking sucks sometimes, and Greet Death get that. As of now, it’s unclear if this track is the precursor of a new album or if it’s just a one-off single, but either way, I’m excited to see the band tweaking their sound while also remaining true to the sound of their previous releases. Not only are they tinkering with their music, but with their lineup as well. “I Hate Everything” sees Jackie Kalmink entering the fold as the band’s bassist and recording/engineer of this song, officially turning Greet Death into a four-piece. I don’t think the band has completely abandoned their loud shoegaze sound, but it’s clear that even without crushing guitars, Greet Death will always be heavy.

---

Connor lives in San Francisco with his partner and their cat and dog, Toni and Hachi. Connor is a student at San Francisco State University and is working toward becoming a community college professor. When he isn’t listening to music or writing about killer riffs, Connor is obsessing over coffee and sandwiches.

Follow him on Twitter or Instagram.

Big Vic – Girl, Buried | Album Review

My favorite albums and songs aren’t great just because of the random assemblage of lyrics and instrumentals they possess; they’re great because the artist is pursuing a specific vision. Sometimes the writing is so vivid that it places you right alongside the narrator. Other times the band’s instrumentation is so distinct that it fleshes out their own corner of the musical universe. Those are the pieces of music that stick with me and keep me coming back because they offer something more than just a simple collection of sounds.

Specifically, in regards to the album format, a well-crafted world can be an infinitely renewable resource. I relish escaping into the countryside of Saint Cloud. I love donning my imaginary leather jacket for Born To Run. I will never get tired of the power and confidence that I feel while listening to Yeezus. Each of these albums flesh out their own one-of-a-kind universe thanks to the unflinching commitment of their respective creators. In capturing their reality, these artists offer up something of themselves. They welcome the listener in and let us find comfort, or coolness, or confidence in the space that they’ve created. That is what keeps me coming back to an album over time because it’s bigger than a good hook or a killer solo; it’s a world all its own. 

As a whole, shoegaze is a genre that understands this commitment to world-building. Bands like Greet Death, Gleemer, and Clearbody are all chipping away at different visions of the same thing. While Greet Death describes their style as “Blackened Post-Alt-Country,” Gleemer takes a more relatable, poppy singalong approach, meanwhile Clearbody offers a punchy style of Grungegaze. These bands can exist alongside heavy-hitters like Deafheaven and Hum, as well as exciting up-and-comers like Dazy and Alien Boy. You get the point. There is enough room in this genre for a wealth of diverse sounds, even when most bands are playing within the same sandbox of fuzzy guitars, sludgy bass, and crashing cymbals. 

This genre is all-encompassing. There are sub-shades of shoegaze where the core mechanics are cross-hatched into other sounds, but by and large, the genre follows the same approach; pummel the listener with distortion and trepidatious lyrics. Turn it up as loud as possible for maximum effect. 

In a genre that seems to be constantly shifting and ever-expanding, the Ann Arbor-based shoegaze act Big Vic is finally ready to unveil themselves with Girl, Buried. While they’ve been an entity since early 2019, it’s clear the band has spent the last two years practicing, honing their skill, and fleshing out their vision. Girl, Buried is a transportive piece of music that warps the familiar sound of shoegaze into something ferocious, groovy, and totally unique.

Once the listener presses play on the opening track, “Dinky,” they have no choice but to sink into the album like a water bed. The record opens with a squeal of feedback, quickly followed by a snappy slice of rock riffage. Lead singer Victoria Rinaldi sounds borderline Kim Deal-esque, affecting a sort of disgruntled 90s intonation that allows the band to bring things down a touch before swinging back into the next shoegaze riff. As the band shifts from one section of the song to the next, it feels as if you’re watching Spider-Man swing from one skyscraper to another; it’s acrobatic, exhilarating, and it all flows in an effortless, naturalistic way. 

Track two, “Broken Car,” is a bit of a sunkissed shift in sound. The song sounds agreeable enough; you can practically see the breeze wafting through the trees while you take in the jangly indie rock. As the opening verse unfolds, the band shifts into this kind of spiky cadence where the instrumental comes in fits and starts that coincide with Rinaldi’s delivery, emphasizing each word in the process. After a couple of verses, it all fades into a sort of Cure-like build which itself winds back up to the starting point, resolving in a neo-psychedelia Jay Som riff.

“Salt” opens with a radiant synth which is quickly paired with a searching Souvlaki-style space riff. The lyrics are just brief flashes that hit you like a jab from a dark alley; they hardly linger long enough to do anything, but still manage to knock the wind out of you. Right as you start to get a grasp on the sentiment, the guitar morphs into a sludgy wall of stankface tone, and we’re swept up into a tornado of overbearing emotion.

Album highlight “Gun Girl” changes things up with a fist-balling rager that alternates between a muscular, soaring punk riff and jagged, unsettling instrumentals. These whiplash-inducing passages are accompanied by vitriolic monologues aimed at creepy guys. The sentiments all pile up at the end of the song and culminate in a disorienting horn outburst that keeps things deliciously off-kilter. Not only does “Gun Girl” inject energy into the tracklist at just the right time, but it also wonderfully captures the out-of-control feeling you get from just trying to keep up with your thoughts while the world around you moves at lightning speed. 

The shoegaze-tinged half-steps into other genres don’t stop there. “Kerrytown” possesses lush slide guitar, lackadaisical banjo plucks, and a laid-back temper that’s slow as molasses and easy as the rolling hills. It’s a woozy little country-tinged pitstop that offers a perfect landing stip necessary for the comedown of “Gun Girl.” And while it starts mild-mannered, “Kerrytown” still crescendos into a beautiful, searching guitar solo that’s downright transcendental. This bleeds effortlessly into “Interlude,” where a whirl of static spins over some more banjo plucks for a wordless two-minute prattle before the final one-two punch of our closing songs.

“Worms” opens like a horror movie; proggy bass, guitar, and drums all jostle the listener around before igniting into an Adebisi Shank-style of robot rock. After a few whisper-quiet verses, the song degrades in real-time, slowing down with each bar before a crushing doom riff sweeps the entire thing into an endless abyss.

Closing track “Anymore” opens with a rolling, arid post-rock stretch that sets the scene for a reserved vocal performance. As the first verse nears its natural breaking point, the band falls into a lumbering Greet Death riff. Not content to repeat the same tricks twice, the next passage sees the group speeding the track up and slowing back down, distorting time like a warped Dalí clock or a piece of Laffy Taffy. The final 50-second stretch takes a page straight out of Mannequin Pussy’s playbook and breaks out into a riff so distorted and blown out it feels like you’re witnessing the end of the world. You can practically feel the walls of the studio shaking as the band breaks through the confines of the record, igniting into a solar flare and hanging themselves upon the night sky.

And that’s Girl, Buried. For a band named “@​​diet_emo” on Twitter, Big Vic is much less diminutive and far less emo than that handle would lead you to believe. This is a record that takes up space. This is a record that has things to say. This is a record that’s in control of its own destiny. 

Aside from the broad swath of genres represented here from shoegaze and beyond, Girl, Buried is also an excellently sequenced album that walks the listener seamlessly from one emotion to the next. Whether the band is getting technical and progressive or shaking with vitriol, Big Vic does an excellent job of making it all feel continuous. 

As the cataclysmic events of the world outside continue to bury us alive every day, sometimes having a world in which you can escape is vital. Girl, Buried isn’t a distraction. This album is not a world in which those hard feelings and oppressive events don’t exist; it’s a world in which they do, and you’re strong enough to confront them. This record is all your own rage, sadness, anger, and helplessness reflected back at you. It’s the band saying, “We feel it too.”

As we try to un-bury ourselves each day, Big Vic offers a forthright album-length reminder that, if you’re feeling the pressure, at least there’s comfort in knowing you’re not alone.