It's fair to say that I know nothing about this band, except that they are from Asbury Park, NJ and according to their twitter profile "An American Rock and Roll Band".
A search on the internet also reveals very little but from the stark black and white, nightmarish imagery of an unknown figure on the album cover, it's not suggesting sweet acoustic pop music.
The 50 minute, 8 song album kicks off with the distorted Jesus and Mary Chain-like Coke Straw, all layered guitars, pulsing beat and grungy vibe. Excellent start.
Album highlight for me is up next. A 12 minute track called Going Back to Haiti. It's a rhythmic, repeating, chugging song that would lend itself to being even longer live and evoking a trace like state into the listeners.
Ruby picks up the pace slightly with its dirty sludgy guitars but the mood remains the same.
Piedmont Aire and Adult Life lighten the mood (slightly) with the former being the nearest thing to a potential single off the album. But who needs singles ? We're thrust back into that trance like state by next album highlight, the menacing Leaves On The Leaves On The Ground....again, repeating vocals, groaning guitars, pulsing beat.
The penultimate track is the 8 minute instrumental The Designing Women of Asbury Park before closing with the nearest thing to a traditional rock song they have I Love Me, Dark Wizard. Very Zep like guitar hook and almost a chorus.
Wreaths are a difficult band to pigeonhole - part grunge, part post rock, part shoegaze.... Whatever the hell they are, they create a hell of a noise that both exhilarates and scares the life out of the listener....and I like that a lot. Check them out HERE.
9/11
Keith @kjsmith4082
LINEUP:
Ralph Nicastro – Guitars/Vocals
Shaun Towey – Guitars/Vocals
Jamison Lauer – Guitars/Organ
Kevin Beeg – Bass
Colin Carhart – Drums