By It’s our Bandcamp Picks of the Week, featuring the blistering metal of Melpomene’s A BODY IS A SUGGESTION and the house’y electronica of Debbie Sings’ OH MY!
Melpomene – A BODY IS A SUGGESTION
Genre: Death Metal, Prog Metal, Doom Metal
Favorite Tracks: “Skull Resonance,” “Transcend Form,” “Abstraction of Being,” “I Am The Future Both Feared And Hoped For”
No one should underestimate instrumental releases. They tend to carry their own voice, and can leap off the page with a tenacity that can break through abstraction. Prog death metal band Melpomene offers just that, sculpting out the harrowing experiences of gender dysmorphia throughout the entirety of A BODY IS A SUGGESTION.
Right from the jump, Melpomene’s melodic riffing provides an emotional tension that underscores thematic reach. Guitar progressions unwind into a boiling venture, alongside drums that explode with every hit, crafting thrumming structures that are reflective of the pressure of the transgender experience. “Skull Resonance” immediately sparks, its grooves bursting aflame before taking a ponderous doom direction. “Transcend Form” takes on a more post-rock swell, with compositions that take an ascending hike to the top, accompanied by subtle synths as if they’re close to transcendence.
It’s not always the burnished tones that carry the band’s message, as there is blissfulness that picks up a sense of light. “Moonglow” and “Abstraction of Being,” while brief, add breathing room to the entire album. They act as spaces that reignite their spirit, and inform that such anxieties can be remedied, all echoed by their upfront progressions and abstract yet calming ambience.
All of this ties down to the closer, “I Am The Future Both Feared And Hoped For.” This momentous nine minute song goes through its triptych-like structure. The first comes in with rapid intensity, drums and guitars running full throttle. This shifts to the second part, leading the calmer melodies into a stormy climax point as the atmosphere ruptures to a roaring high. Eventually, it soothes down to the third and final piece of this song, wherein everything has now settled. The waves of emotions across anxiety, courage, and hope have been evoked in spades, where in a way, Melpomene felt like their spirit had only strengthened, not doused.
A BODY IS A SUGGESTION strikes its message in a way that the best instrumentalists can provide, achieving tonal control but also melodic variety that Melpomene embodies throughout the album. It carries pressure but also calmness, confusion but also clarity. It’s a journey that the band goes through, and comes out with newfound bravery to cover paths moving forward. Check out the stirring record on Bandcamp. [Louis Pelingen]
Debbie Sings – OH MY
Genre: Electro House, Electropop
Favorite Tracks: “Sucker Punch,” “Sunny Skies,” “Leave This City”
I can’t stop smiling when I continue to discover bloghouse and recession pop are making a comeback. The return of the 2000s sleazy, garage guitar rock has had enough time in the spotlight, so the opposite is reappearing—fat, crunchy basslines and glossy, drilling kicks, which conduct the rush to euphorically dance. Although I was much too young at the genre’s apex to dance at the clubs, I’d dance comfortably from home wide-eyed, imagining what that experience would be like. Denmark native Debbie Sings is a new cult figure making that pumpy music to give today’s kids a proper taste of it. With cosigns from local contemporary Jada and art-pop connoisseur Oklou, Sings is the real deal.
Her new EP OH MY doubles down on the high-octane electro house on her debut record DEBBIE’S SONGS. The release had some flirtations with pop country too, but those are now pushed aside to better satisfy electropop’s purpose of escaping by just dancing stupid. Dirty, saturated drums pummel the ears on the thumping “Sucker Punch” and “Make Your Body Move,” with Sings’ chopped-up amplified vox heightening the adrenaline. “Music Loves Me” is Sings’ sparkly tribute to this headbanging club music, while the crass “Hotpants” is an ecstatic, glam ode to the it girl.
OH MY isn’t all straightforward and tongue-in-cheek, which speaks to the beauty of this electropop revival—the refined songwriting edge across the board reveals artists like Sings live and breathe this sound. Lead single “Sunny Skies” is an affecting, uplifting partystarter that sees Sings, singing from her own experience, feeling on top of the world after overcoming a breakdown: “Feels like there’s nothing that could stop me, like that song I will survive.” Later on, “Leave This City” is a rocketing sendoff with yearning sunset synths that farewell the party.
On all of these anthemic bangers, Sings reaches for the stars, with her dramatic, emotionally-charged, and poignant songwriting shooting her up right next to them. If she’s already partying through the pain this confidently, she’s truly one to watch, and that makes me smile. Listen to her new songs on Bandcamp. [Dom Lepore]
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