Merging sultry R&B with dizzying riffs, sace6 have concocted a debut that demands attention
Move over, Sleep Token. Get lost, PRESIDENT – sace6 are the new band on the block blending croons and chugs on commanding debut, brutalist. The New York/New Jersey duo utilise a similar blend of soft and harsh to their forebears, creating space for vulnerability and emotional fragility even as they throw gutturals and pounding drums atop the very same beat.
Opener besotted does take a more gradual approach than what’s to come, becoming the buffer between what’s come before and the vicious pick scrapes and pinches that are in store. As reverie coils and snakes its way into your ears, the guest vocals from jxdn make their impact, before the first full-force track basorexia takes to the batting mound to whack home a triple-digit fastball.
As ego kicks in, it’s near impossible not to feel the duo shift up a gear. Readily attempting to batter the microphone into submission between soothing melodies, it’s one of the best examples of their incredible duality, followed up by another example in covet. Making a less aggressive start, the song’s intro marks a moment of respite halfway through the record before yet again battering down the studio doors.
Side two continues in this vein, with dolorous and nepenthe both opportunities for sace6 to demonstrate a different vocal delivery with more distortion-heavy guitar, before fabulist inserts just a touch of black metal and gnarly industrial into the cauldron of sound being so eagerly stirred. Finale perfidy wraps everything up with a calmer, more melancholy bow put around all that’s been.
While this album will, inevitably, serve to divide heavy music fans with its amalgamation of soft pop melody and R&B trappings atop the pared back djent-inspired instrumentals, sace6 have certainly managed to make a positive start to their career with brutalist. Making their mark on LP1, it seems the sky might be the only limit for the duo.
Verdict: 3/5
For fans of: Sleep Token, President, Magnolia Park
brutalist is released on May 8 via Sumerian Records.
