Rocker (feedbot)
Gold Member
Calva Louise are everything. That’s not intended to be a Swiftie “OMG they’re everything to me” statement: the three of them encompass so much in both their sound and their ambition. The multi instrumental Venezuelan-Kiwi trio, who met in London, are continuing their mission to make unrelenting genre-fusing metal and setting their sights on translating their dystopian visions into a complex and gorgeous sophomore record. ‘Edge Of The Abyss’ brings in art rock, electronica, metal screams, multi-lingual lyrics and demonic screaming to create a record which feels like it’s cramming the whole world into eleven short songs, each one warping past in a flash.
What you wouldn’t expect from the heaviness they weave is a sense of loss and finding yourself in a place undefined by space and time. ‘Aimless’, for all of it’s bold riffs and rapidly flitting narratives, is a song for those wandering in another land, shot through with screams and disconcertingly pretty latin beats. The way vocalist Jess Allanic switches between English and Spanish only adds to the culture shock pouring from each bar. As quickly as we begin to enjoy it, we’re faced with the assertiveness of ‘Lo Que Vale’, the sheer barrage of noise forcing you to stand up straight and appreciate the scope of Allanic’s vision. These are the kind of songs that start a pit with the same ease they’ll provoke thought from those at the back of the stalls.
With each release, Calva Louise are maturing and demanding more from their listeners. Each song packs in at least five different songs, but there’s never a pressure to analyse what’s happening. You just have to let go and enjoy what they’re channelling. ‘Impeccable’, perhaps the closest to touching the neon dystopia that Allanic imagines, is a seriously dark electronic moment, crystalline and capable of drawing in the ravers. It also brings in almost Sleep Token waterfalls of distortion, twisting in and out of the robotic and the very human, and shows that Calva Louise can’t be reduced to anything as reductive as a single melody or a genre. ‘Barely A Response’ could be almost Europop, when it’s not shredding your eardrums with roars that could summon demons, and ‘El Umbral’ could be euphoric in points were it not for near industrial levels of brutality. This is a band that delight in trying to do more, to be more, to encompass more with their sound that anyone would expect and that’s what makes ‘Edge of The Abyss’ such a striking listen.
It’s the definite stance that dominates ‘Edge of the Abyss’ that makes it such a compulsive listen. Calva Louise have a fully formed idea of where they want to go, and with every release the structure they’re creating, piece by piece, is revealed. From the second that opener ‘Tunnel Vision’ disintegrates into furious theatricality until the disconcerting piano of ‘Under My Skin’ erupts into a call to arms, we’re strong-armed onto a distinct and fresh musical planet that’s every so slightly more vibrant than our own. With every release Calva Louise seem to be branching out like an underground root system, stretching further and further until they’re ready to blast into the mainstream. The sheer force of storytelling and energy, along with an indefinable and intelligent originality, explain why they’re growing stronger every time they drop a single, and ‘Edge of the Abyss’ might just be the final step that sends Calva Louise soaring.
KATE ALLVEY
What you wouldn’t expect from the heaviness they weave is a sense of loss and finding yourself in a place undefined by space and time. ‘Aimless’, for all of it’s bold riffs and rapidly flitting narratives, is a song for those wandering in another land, shot through with screams and disconcertingly pretty latin beats. The way vocalist Jess Allanic switches between English and Spanish only adds to the culture shock pouring from each bar. As quickly as we begin to enjoy it, we’re faced with the assertiveness of ‘Lo Que Vale’, the sheer barrage of noise forcing you to stand up straight and appreciate the scope of Allanic’s vision. These are the kind of songs that start a pit with the same ease they’ll provoke thought from those at the back of the stalls.
With each release, Calva Louise are maturing and demanding more from their listeners. Each song packs in at least five different songs, but there’s never a pressure to analyse what’s happening. You just have to let go and enjoy what they’re channelling. ‘Impeccable’, perhaps the closest to touching the neon dystopia that Allanic imagines, is a seriously dark electronic moment, crystalline and capable of drawing in the ravers. It also brings in almost Sleep Token waterfalls of distortion, twisting in and out of the robotic and the very human, and shows that Calva Louise can’t be reduced to anything as reductive as a single melody or a genre. ‘Barely A Response’ could be almost Europop, when it’s not shredding your eardrums with roars that could summon demons, and ‘El Umbral’ could be euphoric in points were it not for near industrial levels of brutality. This is a band that delight in trying to do more, to be more, to encompass more with their sound that anyone would expect and that’s what makes ‘Edge of The Abyss’ such a striking listen.
It’s the definite stance that dominates ‘Edge of the Abyss’ that makes it such a compulsive listen. Calva Louise have a fully formed idea of where they want to go, and with every release the structure they’re creating, piece by piece, is revealed. From the second that opener ‘Tunnel Vision’ disintegrates into furious theatricality until the disconcerting piano of ‘Under My Skin’ erupts into a call to arms, we’re strong-armed onto a distinct and fresh musical planet that’s every so slightly more vibrant than our own. With every release Calva Louise seem to be branching out like an underground root system, stretching further and further until they’re ready to blast into the mainstream. The sheer force of storytelling and energy, along with an indefinable and intelligent originality, explain why they’re growing stronger every time they drop a single, and ‘Edge of the Abyss’ might just be the final step that sends Calva Louise soaring.
KATE ALLVEY