Description
Bristol via London based noise-rock crew Modern Rituals are back with their second album, ‘This Is The History’. Armed with a far more dense low-end alongside their unsettlingly angular melodies, this sophomore effort simmers with a restless verve in its tonal marriage of the gentle and the grimy.
Tracks such as ‘The Bull Never Wins’ and stunning closer ‘Jutting Chin’ brings to mind Fugazi or The Jesus Lizard at their most disjointed, coupled with the violent fusion of Unsane and Melvins-esque sludge elements; Modern Rituals’ musical palette is one of extremes. The album certainly pulls a lot of its strength from these more unhinged moments, but it should be noted, there’s also a shimmering and hazy quality to their more melodious cuts. ‘Them Days Is Gone’ and ‘You Can’t Tell A Man By The Songs He Sings’ both delicately unravel with a gentle precariousness, bubbling away with a nervous energy that’s as beautiful as it is exhausting.
There’s a warm familiarity in ‘This Is The History’s’ more palatable sounds, with names such as Sonic Youth or Pile no doubt likely to be cited as a reference point, but it’s in Modern Rituals’ more explosive moments – when the restlessness boils over – that we can get a picture of a band operating wildly and freely without genre confines.
