Labor Party - I Bleed - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Bleed's introductory EP Somebody's Closer was initially self-released by the band through digital platforms in 2021. Despite no physical at the time, the EP, invoking late '90s / early '00s-era alt rock / metal gained the Dallas, Texas-based band a lotta buzz with it's gauzy distortion balancing tension and atmosphere, and via several mutual connections came to the attention of 20 Buck Spin. The tag issued vinyl and cassette editions in 2022 bringing Bleed's music to new audiences and wider attention. Since that time the anticipation for the band's debut full length has built to fever pitch, and at long last it arrives as Spring heads into Summer. Bleed's self-titled LP maintains the melodic heaviness and tight song structures of the EP, while diving headfirst into the oceanic haze, pushing their sound into territory more immersive, relentless and hypnotically rich. Guitars surge and sway in stacked waves of gravitational angst, overdriven rhythms eccentrically pulsing beneath, and guitarist / singer Ryan Hughes's voice floating in and out, sometimes distant and detached, sometimes cracked open with desperation. Lyrics move in fragments, alluding to themes of deep interntal struggle, coping mechanisms and hurting those you love most. It's music that doesn't so much demand attention as seeps straight into the bloodstream, the kind of album that endlessly loops in the back of the mind at 3 A.M. Bold strides are taken right outta the gate to make the authenticity of Bleed's universe more expansive in it's inspirations and ambitions. There's a confidence to the way Bleed let's these songs unfold, they make their impact immediate and have no need to persist longer than necessary. The result is an album that feels massive yet intimate, brutal yet beautiful, familar yet singular. It doesn't simply leave an impression, it lingers, reverberating long after the final notes ha

In Rumi's poem A Great Wagon he writes of a place of total acceptance. InchOut beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there,Inch It is a boundless, liminal space where we can the judgments we make and carry of ourselves, and the comparisons to others. When we think of this field, there is a sense of tranquility that only comes when we are undisturbed by the shadow self and see existence as neither bright nor dim, white nor black. But as lead singer Greg Bertens explains, arriving there is a whole different story. InchThis is a poem I've returned to over the years, and I love the idea of this place, but getting there is life's journey.Inch Bertens adds InchI think the longing for and elusiveness of this field is a recurring theme in our music.Inch Field is enveloped by themes of regret, disconnection and frustration but with the space to understand that these feelings are a natural part of the struggle between reconciling the inner and outer self. The Los Angeles/San Francisco-based group have been indie shoegaze stalwarts since their formation in 2001. After two decades and a handful of line-up changes, their extensive discography presents a dynamically textural, rich psychedelic rock that has featured guest appearances by members of Pavement, My Bloody Valentine, and Snow Patrol, among others. 2021's LP We Weren't Here was hailed for it's dense instrumental blanket, where unrelenting hi-hats and heavy kicks exist alongside dreamy drone guitar.This propulsive nature permeates Field, as members Bertens, Noël Brydebell (vocals), Nyles Lannon (guitar), Jason Ruck (synths), Justin LaBo (bass), and Adam Wade (drums) produce a kaleidoscopic sonic landscape. Patient, sprawling instrumentation builds a foundation in which Bertens' themes of endurance, perseverance and clarity can bloom with a considered poise. As a lyricist who writes in

Australian minimalist-jazz trio The Necks' 20th studio album, Bleed, explores a sublime language of stillness. With a single, 42-minute composition, The Necks masterfully express the unspeakable beauty of decay and space in yet another totally distinct entry in a vast and stunning body of work