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French hardcore outfit, STINKY, are back with their latest record Solace. The album itself has been five years in the making where, since their previous record, STINKY have gone through a line-up change with a new bassist and two new guitarists. But despite the change, the band still promises to remain true to their original mission and sound, but unafraid to expand their musical catalogue.
Opening the record, we are first greeted with dark ethereal sound effects that are borderline sci-fi on Down In The Dumps. A low strumming guitar starts to come through, blending in nicely with sounds, before the full band joins and everything kicks off with a heavy hardcore sound and brutal rough vocals, nicely balanced with some melodic undertone. Across the track, and the record itself, we hear vocals that go between rough and clean, showing STINKY’s versatility.
A fun part about the album is that while the focus is on all things heavy and brutal, we’re also treated to elements of lighter sounds within pop and punk, as first show on Grass Snakes, featuring Lou Koller of SICK OF IT ALL. The track itself can be described as fast punk with heavy undertones; to be more specific, it’s like a love child between RISE AGAINST and ARCHITECTS and is overall a thrilling song.
This is also heard on Nothing Can Fix It and Soft Sand where the style is easily described as anthemic pop-punk, again with heavier undertones, however, it’s in the latter that we hear the first issue of the record. As previously mentioned, the vocals go between rough and clean, and, in a record where the production is highly polished with at times loud and dramatic sections, it’s important for the vocals to match that quality otherwise they risk getting lost. And it’s during Soft Sand and Alignment, a more hardcore focused song, the vocals are let down and are left sounding whiny and weak. Luckily, things improve as both tracks progress, but it’s still enough to stand out.
Outside of the punk sound, we also hear examples of STINKY branching out into the world of industrial rock and nu-metal. In Mourning Flowers, which opens with a more mellow yet moody track, you find yourself reminded on early noughties nu-metal, complete with some fun smaller breakdowns and even a pop melody to bring everything together. And then on Moonbow and Natural Savior, we hear them bring industrial rock into tracks that also experiment further with punk and even with a flair of the dramatic. This likely won’t be for hardcore purists with its experimentation and poppier moments, but STINKY have shown that punk has no rules in a strong statement of intent with Solace.
Rating: 8/10
Solace is set for release on February 21 via self-release.
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The post ALBUM REVIEW: Solace – Stinky appeared first on Distorted Sound Magazine.
