Ever evolving, plunging deeper into metallic influences, Knocked Loose follow up their debut Laugh Tracks with this menacing beast of a sophomore record. Sinister in tone, its shouted angers and growled frustrations lurch within a darkly atmosphere well encapsulated by its album cover. A Different Shade Of Blue leans into discomfort, bleeding unsettled tensions into rhythmic groove and bounce. Dissonant, angular, shady guitar licks play interim on a stifling path to release. Strings of muddling riffs craftily pivot into thudding grooves and stomping halftimes, gratifying upon arrival.
Its thirty eight minutes entertain thoroughly. A consistent, non-linear onslaught of aggression. With dreary mood, the music seemingly stumbles its way into the wild throws of beat down magic over and over. A simple concept for release that somehow never unshackles its dingy looming dread. This characters the record with a sense of artistry where typical ideals are twisted to the will of this hallowed, enraged vision.
The metallic influences present are unshakable. In both tone and composition, these echos of Sludge, Groove and Melodic Death Metal ripple through more obvious Metalcore stylings. Many riffs and moments have an uncanny reminiscence but to what or who specifically I am never quite sure. This is testament to their creative expression. Influences heard all over yet never encroaching generic plagiarism.
My ultimate takeaway is my favorite sort, a solid record. Something that plays in service of its next song. Barely a peak or valley, just a consistently exciting venture along its meandering foray of gratifying aggressive oddities. Mistakes Like Fractures jumps out at the mid point but other than that its really hard to pick favorites as each track delivers on both its wretched mood and punchy spurts of head banging bliss.
Rating: 8/10