Album Review: Noisepicker - The Earth Will Swallow The Sun
Reviewed by Matthew Williams
This is another example of why I enjoy doing these reviews, as it allows me to listen to bands that I have previously never heard before. Yes, I know we all get excited when one of our favourite bands releases a new album, but when you get to discover new music and new songs from different genres, it makes everything worthwhile.
It’s somewhat bad of me in that case, that I’ve never picked up on Keiran Murphy and Harry Armstrong, aka Noisepicker, before now, but also it might be because they’ve been on a hiatus since they released their first album back in 2018. Armstrong has of course been busy in that time, with his current status as bass payer in the legendary Orange Goblin, whilst also playing in other great bands such as End of Level Boss and the wonderful Firebird, alongside Bill Steer from Carcass.
It begins with a gentle strumming of a guitar to open “What you Deserve” and then out comes a song which pays homage to the blues, with a vocal that sounds like someone has swallowed a bag of cement and smoked a thousand cigarettes. It’s a slow burner that leads into something slightly different with “Chew”. It has a crunchy riff, and a simple drum beat that dominates the song, whilst the howling vocal offers a different take to their music.
You can sense that the songs are a bit rough around the edges but I for one love that as its raw and you can feel it gnawing away at you with each listen. “Tomorrow Lied The Devil” picks up the heavier mantle and runs with it quite successfully. The pace feels more intense with added venom in the lyrics, and then a different style appears on “Leave Me The Name”, one that I can’t quite pinpoint, perhaps darker and sinister in its delivery but it sent my head into a bit of a spin.
In fairness the whole album has my head swirling around, as the pile of unused riffs were dug up, cobwebs blown off and brought to life, developing songs from their favoured genres such as doom, punk, blues. “What Did You Think Was Going To Happen” kind of sums this up for me. It has an almost James Bond theme riff exploding throughout the song, before “The End of the Beginning” emerges like a shadowy figure through the fog on a dark, East End London Street.
I’m back on familiar territory with “Start the Flood” as if feels like its overdosed-on caffeine with an explosive riff over a mighty drum sound from Murphy, and it’s probably my favourite song on the album. With the album title track up next, it kicks off with a simple yet effective drumbeat, that leads onto another razor-sharp riff that cuts right through before giving way to a blistering bass line.
Another strange collection of noises wraps around you during “Lorraine in Blood” adding to the feeling of being in a dirty, smoky jazz club. I particularly enjoy the slow and brooding tempo as “Lunatics” picks up the gauntlet for one final time and comes across as emotional and sombre as it walks off into the rain sodden night, clutching a bottle of whisky in one hand and a guitar in the other.
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