Night Verses warned us to expect a “fuller, darker ambience” on their latest release, and they make a valiant effort to live up to that promise.
Famed producer Ross Robinson brings his jagged freneticism to the heavier tracks, and right from the opening riffs of The Future As History: I Love You Dead, it’s clear this isn’t going to be an easy listen.
Douglas Robinson’s vocals wrestle with menacing electronic effects and booming, reverbed drums, giving a drunken-Glassjaw-trapped-in-an-empty-swimming-pool feel, but woozy post-rock isn’t their only trick. Drift has a Bowie-like feel and the marching rhythm of A Dialogue In Cataplexy, which evokes Diamond Eyes-era Deftones, makes it one of the standouts. Faceless Youth has an unexpected metalcore feel, while Panic And Pull Your Heart Out draws on fuzzy shoegaze. The contrast between the slow, atmospheric tunes and the crushing wall of sound on heavy tracks means every song is distinguishable, and complex enough that you’ll want to listen twice.
