Wildspeaker - Spreading Adder album review

Blackened crust is the order of the day on Wildspeaker’s second full-length, the Texan quintet bringing a raucous energy to an album extols the virtues of the natural world while condemning humanity. Vocalist Natalie Kahan slices her way through the rubble with razor-sharp precision while the guitars pulse with spite. Apparent Death strikes with thunderous rage before the title track turns with a step up in pace and fury. False Mourning carries a sorrow-filled guitar line hidden beneath Kahan’s voice, allowing the band to showcase another side to their anger, which also shows through the melancholy branches of closing track Renewal. A much more subdued affair, the track is beautiful in its despair and Wildspeaker mourn the ravages of time with shimmering guitars and grief-stricken inflections that contrast wildly to the beginnings of the record, but sync wonderfully with the message behind it: humanity is trash but the world can be beautiful.