Written by Carcassbomb
Pipe Dreamer – No Solace For The Soulless
Post Metal/Sludge/Punk from America
Released January 20, 2021
Independent release
8/10
Alright! Time for some real underground post-metal shit. I forgot that music can have a rawer mix and still sound good. Pipe Dreamer has really played into the sound they have rather than trying to strive for something unrealistic. The result is something special blending charm with ruggedness.
Post metal can be a broad genre so I’m going to go ahead and classify this on the sludge side things, it has really harsh grooves and aggressive vocals for the most part. There is also a side of this band that I’d describe as shoegaze/skramz with hypnotic clean chords and even some clean vocals prone to breaking in anger or frustration. I like both of these sides, they serve their purpose well. The cleaner gazier stuff brings a lot of the charm while the sludge brings the grit, two difficult things to embody at once.
A self-funded debut LP is no joke and these guys have created something worthwhile that I hope the rest of the world catches up to. December and January release dates are BRUTAL for new bands and unfortunately, not a lot of people pay attention to releases during these months, regardless of what coverage it receives. I believe that to be the deal here because musically it’s very decent and I know a million metalheads and stoners who would dig right into this. There’s so much heart in this sound, it’s overflowing with sensation and contemplation.
“Never forget life is fleeting” can be heard yelled over the crisp feedback on “Free From Fear of Failure”, which really stuck out because I can relate strongly to that particular existential crisis. If a day passed where I didn’t get stuck in my head thinking about being elderly or losing a loved one then I might actually be happy for a day. It’s easier to just not sleep than lay idle for a minute where such thoughts may enter and fester. Anyway back to the music, this is where I’m supposed to make some kind of comparison to other bands, right? Take parts of Neurosis and parts of Deafheaven and then let Pipe Dreamer play around with them, they’ll do good things with it don’t worry.
No Solace For The Soulless is a solid underground release. I’ve heard so many new bands, I’ve seen so many first sets and I can tell you that the majority of them suck. And for many bands sucking is an important first step in their growth. Pipe Dreamer is skipping that step and instead are making brilliant music for a very small audience. It’ll be interesting to hear what they write next because it could really go in any direction with how much is at play here between the sludge, doom, post, screamo, gaze and alt-rock inspirations that appear throughout. Will they keep their fluid combination or will they latch onto a specific element? Support the band to find out, buy their shit and encourage them.
More ears need to be on this album
8/10
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