Album Reviews

Chicago’s Meat Wave are back at it with “The Incessant”, the name frontman Chris Sutter gave to the all-encompassing anxiety he felt following the demise of a long-time relationship. Engineered by Steve Albini, this is one fierce and raw beast that comes complete with exposed nerve endings.

Songs like opening track “To Be Swayed”, “Run You Out” and “Bad Man” cut like shards of glass while still being unexpectedly melodic. The riffs are as jarring as they are choppy, Sutter sounds like a man exorcising his demons and meanwhile the relentless rhythm section keeps plowing forward. Think Hot Snakes with a bit of Future Of The Left.

Meat Wave isn’t necessarily doing anything they didn’t already do on “Delusion Moon”. But while my attention waned about halfway through that album, I found it a lot easier to stay interested this time around. Painful as some of the songs may be, Meat Wave keep you on your toes the entire time before knocking you the fuck out with the dark and noisy closing track that is “Killing The Incessant”.

Track listing:

1. To Be Swayed
2. Tomosaki
3. Run You Out
4. Leopard Print Jet Ski
5. Bad Man
6. No Light
7. Glass Teeth
8. The Incessant
9. At the Lake
10. Mask
11. Birdland
12. Killing the Incessant