I feel like there’s a lot of records we’ll be hailing as “must-hear” especially this soon after leaving that shitshow of a year in the rearview. Sarin’s aptly-titled upcoming record, You Can’t Go Back, is definitely one of those kinds of artists giving this reviewer the same feelings as listening through Isis’ Oceanic for the first time.
Crushing yet cathartic, sometimes there are words, a lot of times there are not. And at other times, that old adage about beauty in the breakdown rings loud and true. “Cold Open” encompasses all that and then some with a short four-minute blast of heavy that drives home those details and sets the course for what’s to come introducing David Wilson’s killer pipes and guitar tones along with crushing fret work from Matt Dakers, Andrew Salmon’s bass boom, and Aleks Hara’s steady hand on the sticks.
“When You Melt” really goes for it with an expansive follow up and barely a word spoken within the entire eight minute timeframe that tonally is on another level entirely from what’s currently out there in the Post-Rock world. On the flip side, “Reckoner” is bold and beautiful as Wilson goes OFF with the Aaron Turner vocal vibes that are these guttural, animalistic passages of heavy bliss. Elsewhere in the track, Salmon’s bass pangs lunge in the deep as a burgeoning percussive build up leads towards these glorious fills towards the end from Hara.
“Thick Mire” is a steady, heavy ascent (Or descent depending on your point of view) into an unbridled fury with this almost primal bombast from Hara’s tribal trouncing of the skins as Wilson and Dakers chug along with a viciously ominous repeated riff. “Otherness” begins with tender tones, fueled by zen before expanding into a steady grind that brings the cerebral crunch. Then it all comes crashing down for concluding beastie “Leave Your Body” which is simply marvelous, exuding a heft that bounces and flows like the best Pelican Pop song never written. But before you have the track figured out, “Leave Your Body” grabs onto the loudness once more with Wilson’s growl dominating, fiercely barking as the energy ramps up for something akin to a Metal-driven victory lap as it lays down those triumphant tones.
You Can’t Go Back releases through Prosthetic Records on February 5th. Pre-orders are up now and can be perused and purchased when you head here or here. For the latest on Sarin, follow them across their socials by heading here, here, or here.