LØVVE - After the rain the sun comes out [2020, Lixiviat records]

 

In today's review, we have a bunch of fellas from Tours, France, called LØVVE. This is their second full-length album which does not depart far from their style as it is quite similar to their first album. It is nice to find bands that have their own style and manage to maintain it throughout their discography while doing something different as well.

 

Let’s start with the thing that catches your eyes first - the album art and the album name. “After the rain the sun comes out” indicates that this is not some kind of “funny" hardcore album rather than something more serious and with an intentional meaning - which in my opinion, provides more value to the music itself. The way the album name is placed on the album cover could imply an endless loop of rain and sun constantly changing into one another. And the album cover looks dark and different than you would see on any other hardcore or powerviolence release. Although, I would love to hear more about the concept of the album.

After getting first impressions, this album gets even better and I am not gonna lie - it made me cum. That bass intro you hear at the beginning of the first track… MmmmMMM… Beefy and catchy hardcore punk riffs are everything I could ask for and that is the very first thing I get! Oh, and the guitar feedback also arouses me quite a lot. 

The music itself is kind of similar to some other fastcore bands like Reproach or at times even Crippled Fox, but way heavier and a tad slower. And that is not a bad thing. Vocals remind me of old school hardcore punk or crossover thrash metal, but it perfectly accompanies the guitar riffs and creates a cool “IN YOUR FACE” vibe.  But despite the aforementioned similarities to fastcore, you can also hear some quite melodic and “obscure” riffs that go into fast powerviolence-y parts with d-beat or sometimes even blastbeats. 

All in all, the album should not be longer or shorter - it has the perfect length, does not get boring as there is a huge variety in the composition and you keep wanting to listen to this album more and more! 

And I will say it again - that bass intro riff kicks ass!

You can listen to the album on Spotify and Bandcamp:

NEEDFUL THINGS/CONTROLLED EXISTENCE Split [2020]

In todays review we are talking about a split from the two Czechs finest bands - Controlled Existence and Needful Things. For both bands it is a very important and in a way a sad release, but also a beginning of a new chapter as the vocalists of both bands are leaving and moving on to do something else! Nonetheless this is a great farewell split album and it was amazing hearing all the music they contributed to!

L: Let's start with Controlled Existence side and oh boy, that is a fucking amazing powerviolence release. No bullshit, fast and straight forward PV right from the beginning. Somehow even the slow parts seem fast and hard, the fast parts are fast enough not to turn into an uncomprehendable mush. Thats probably because the mix is quite high quality (for this genre) - the drums sound tight, the whole record sounds “sharp” and in general, this is what a power violence record should sound like, in my opinion. And while I prefer powerviolence because its closer to hardcore punk than usual grindcore is, this is fucking nowhere close to hardcore punk. Just pure hatred.

 

K: Few times I have seen this band live, they always have a very strong stage presence and the serious tone makes you think about the things they have to say. It will be interesting to see where things will head without Luba, but their technical, "broken", Warsore inspired grind we see live is one of a kind and I really hope it's not the last release from CxEx as they already have a replacement

L: On the second side we have Needful Things. Now, this is a proper grindcore release
- blastbeats straight from the start, no bullshit. Songs are longer than on the CxEx side, they are a bit faster and way closer to metal. At times it sounds a bit crusty, there is plenty of powerviolence influences and you can definitely hear some Napalm Death in it as well.

K: This band has been around since forever and you can absolutely tell these guys know how it's done. I remember I was so excited to see them in OEF 2005, but the party just got too much fun before that. I wake up in my tent after a blackout and I hear *blastbeat ends* "thank you that was needful things!" God fucking damn it. I leave the tent in a rush and running I slip on my own puke I forgot was there mixed with Trutnov's mud sokaed in rain. Those fun stories I will never forget and this band has a special place in my heart for sure.

All in all, this is a great, personal and emotional split release, that should be played once in a while by everyone, who is into this kind of stuff. Definitely a top notch record, get a physical copy when it's out.It’s fucking annoying, that there are no way you could listen to both sides in the same place, but I hope that this will change sometime in the future.

Here is the Controlled Existence side...                                     And here is Needful Things!