[rayword45]

Day 1014: Congratulations by EYES

We're on a hot streak here! I saw this as one of the higher-ranked noise rock albums for the year, but it also having the subgenres "screamo" and "metalcore" turned me off from it before I listened to a second of it. That was a fat ass mistake, as this fucking SLAPS. This is way more sludgy than those aforementioned descriptors would make me think, it is indeed angsty and angry as you'd expect but it doesn't make me cringe like some Rise Records bullshit.

This stuff can get pretty same-y, not just this band but pretty much all bands with a similar sound, but it works here because they keep things brief and tight (the whole album clocks in under a half-hour) and the whole thing never relents with the in-your-face aggression. Compared to the much more popular Chat Pile, the vocals here work better for me as do the riffs. Compared to the much more cancelled Daughters, this seems way more interested in just being face-shredding rather than "dark" and "spooky" and all that crap, which fits the sardonic album art.

I'm gonna have to listen to this a bunch times more to see if it's a new favorite like KEN Mode's Loved or if it loses its luster with repeat listens. With the first few go arounds though, this may very well be the best thing I've heard all year thus far.

Best Track: Bbbbbbbliss
Rating: 9/10