I have to admit that I once didn’t get music that sits sometime in the post-hardcore sound but I have come to love it. It is the shifts between feels and the excitement of that sudden switch to out and out guitar noise that do it for me. To put it simply, extreme light and shade. Why do I mention this? It’s because Ómoia sit in this sound space.

In the first of the two tracks ‘Guillotine’… sorry I’ve just got to step away from the review here to mention that the band describe ‘The Weight of Silence’ as an EP. In the days of my vinyl youth an EP was either a 7’ or 12’ single with more than two tracks. I have in my possession vinyl EPs with three, four and five tracks. A two track single where both tracks were equal ‘leads’ would have been described as a double A-side. Anyway just a passing thought that shows without doubt that those of us who got into music in the vinyl age are just living in confusion when it comes to streaming.

Anyway, back to the review. The two songs explore raw emotions and deeply personal struggles. And to reflect this the sound here, when it gets heavy, is rawer and heavier.

‘Guillotine’ takes the contrast between the melodic and heavy to an extreme. The melodic is a gorgeous as you could want but the heavy is an emotion laden howl that is as disturbing as it’s loud,

But even in the melodic sections there is a disconnect between the sound and the words that knocked me sideways in the opening part of the song. The song ‘grapples with the overwhelming emotional and psychological weight of living with an eating disorder, where the pressure to consume spirals into panic, cravings suffocate, and self-acceptance feels elusive’ and does this with a rawness and honesty that I find almost too much but at the same time find intensely compelling.

There is a feeling of being alone in the melodic parts followed by a feeling of emotional suffocation in the heavy that tells you what the song is about musically, and that is the brilliant thing about this song.

And the playing, completely wonderful. There are subtleties in the sound that draw you in and encourage you to sonically explore.

‘All Monsters Are Human’ sounds, to coin a phrase, heavy and heavier. It roars with guitar, frantic shifts in tempo and breakneck riffs. And the vocal makes equally impossible shifts in sound, speed and tone.

The song ‘is a dark, introspective portrayal of depression and self-perception as monstrous, questioning the possibility of shared pain and the hope for escape from isolating self-loathing’. And this is what it sounds like. If you’ve ever wondered what it feels like to be in a deep depression feels like, this will tell you.

This EP sounds amazing with outstanding playing and a vocal that is intensely compelling. Combine this with the raw and honest personal lyrics and music that tells their story, and you have something that has a raw emotional beauty. Terrifyingly good.

I was completely bowled over by the first two releases I reviewed from Since Torino – ‘Snow’ and ‘Everything Else’. Well, I say bowled over but it’s more honest to say I fell deeply in love with them. The same is the case with ‘portree. 1992’; the first trak to be released from the band’s upcoming EP.

Like the first two releases ‘portree. 1992’ can’t be put into any straightforward musical genre; and this in itself is something to be loved, I guess you might say that it has elements of Emo, but then again it equally has elements of Jazz. Somehow it feels close to Radiohead, except it’s not as dense sounding as that comparison might give the impression.

The thing is that me groping around blindly for some sort of musical comparison is not the important thing, the important thing is how it sounds as a whole. And to put this into a phrase would be to say it burns with an emotional intensity that is almost too much to take.

It’s slow, achingly beautifully slow. There’s a growling guitar but it’s way back in the mix. There’s a bittersweet sounding guitar that plays over this. And then there’s inventive sparse as you want drums that weave through this. But there is also a vocal that I can only describe as a drawling whisper that sings words you have to listen to very very closely to hear’ words that even you don’t hear them well to get what the song is about have an intense emotional impact on you. One is aware that something of great significance must have happened in the town of Portree in 1992, and whatever that was is deeply deeply personal. To me it’s a song about loss. And I feel this through the music as much as the vocal.

And yes, if you have to know the song does build to something but it isn’t the guitar fest you might assume. It’s actually a horn, And this, unexpectedly as it may be, is just so right it reaches in and twists your heartstrings. No-one would be upset it you shed a tear ar this point in the song. I’m not afraid to admit I did.

‘portree. 1992’ is achingly beautiful. It sounds incredible. It burns with a fragile emotional intensity that leaves you in bits, but you can’t help but want to hear it again.

The info

The upcoming EP is called ‘a long night down to calgary’, and the band wrote, recorded and produced it over the past year. It’s a six track soft-concept record, and will be released in February 2025.

I’m late bringing this to you, for which I apologise, but it’s so good I thought better late than never.

Wolforna do raw heavy rock; heavy on the sound of full impact guitars, soaring vocals and thunderous drums. But, this is the crucial thing, their music is full of nuance; odd sounds that you don’t really expect to hear. It’s that twist that makes it soooo good.

There’s a theme that runs through this EP both in sound and, if I’m not mistaken song; Wolforna have embraced dystopia, unease, the sound of a world falling apart.

OK, so they’re easing us into it with ‘Your Tongue, My Teeth’. The feel here is full-on heavy rock attack. But in the guitar based glorious grind there’s something else – anxiety inducing weird sounds, backing vocals with that ‘edge’.

‘What’s that In Old Money’ is a big song. It’s intricately constructed with many many changes, one moment it’s a huge riff, the nest a ‘quiet section’ with massed vocals and delicate guitar. I have to admit that as an old style back in the day heavy rock fan, this is ticking all the boxes and rocking my world.

A disturbing voicemail introduces ‘Copium’ an off-kilter sinuous song that is distinctly unsettling. Yep, it rocks hard but it’s melodic, and that sweet melodic sound just does sit alongside that off-kilter sound; that’s the key to this, it’s what does it for me.

‘Zombie Knife’ takes their sound somewhere else. It’s the sound of a terrifying night. It crawls, it’s dirty, it slinks, it’s dark as fuck. This is epic, this is huge. It’s cinematic. It’s the sound of a band pushing the envelope of heavy rock as far as it will bloody stretch.

The EP closes with ‘Chains’. A song that I can only describe as a slow heavy rock ballad. Grinding guitars, piano, sweet as fuck vocals all combine into something incredibly powerful. A fitting end to a brilliant EP.

The thing about Wolforna is that while they clearly take their musical cues from old style back in the day heavy rock, their sound takes that and adds to it, stretches it and takes music from then until now into it. And yet it’s still heavy rock.

There’s only one short way to describe this EP; bloody incredible, The longer way is say that this EP is the sound of a band writing and playing jaw droppingly fantastic songs Beyond that I have no words.

As you will know, if you’ve been keeping up with my reviews. I am not that keen on Indie UNLESS it has that certain something, that special thing. This release from Leeds’ band Silverfish has that certain something.

The song, unless I’m very much mistaken (Entirely possible, to be honest – Ed). is about the whirlwind of an obsessional lustful love. The band explain ‘Serpentine explores the complex dynamics of lust and love in relationships, highlighting how these forces often push and pull against each other. The verses capture the more lustful and playful side of romance, before bursting into choruses enveloped in deep affection and devotion, ultimately arriving at a moment of balance between lust and love’.

The words are fantastic, so well worth a close listen. That’s the first special thing. The second is that the band have injected a sinuous, slinky and twisty feel into the track that is a joy. Not only does this follow the theme of the song but it’s a frankly wonderful musical touch. Yep, it follows that slow and quieter, and then absolute frantic rush that we are all probably familia, but with spot on playing and clever musical touches, it’s something special. All this and you can dance yourself silly to it.

In short, ‘Serpentine’ is a wonderful joyous track. This is bloody fantastic.

The info

Leeds-based indie-rock/pop outfit Silverfish deliver vibrant, punchy energy while creating space for vivid and rich introspection. The four-piece band take inspiration from the likes of Foals, Sticky Fingers, and Radiohead to create distinctive indie-rock music filled with character and variety.

First formed in late 2021, members Tom Gannon (vocals), George Bolger (drums), Oliver Mullan (Lead Guitar) and Ben Norton (Bass, Synth) and all met at the University of Leeds.

A Fold release is a listening experience AND a learning experience. The sound of Fold’s music is an absolute joy. And the themes of the tracks are thoughtful and thought provoking. Their use of ‘found voices’ in their tracks is a big part of this; in past reviews I have compelled to research the people who provide these found words, and I’ve learnt a lot of things. In short it is music for the heart, soul, mind and, of course, body – you can dance to it, people.

There is a theme to the music here, Fold explain ‘The tracks on this record were written and produced between 2020 and 2024; a period of great turbulence, challenge and trauma for the world. We Do Not Forget embodies a journey of processing all that has gone on both internally and externally during those four years. This involved coming to terms with power structures that exploit us and our world for profit, often in horrific and inhumane ways. It was also a reckoning with historical arcs of trauma, reframing a lifetime through the lens of undiagnosed neurodivergence and pandemic burnout’.

It has been three US election cycles since Fold released their first single ‘Mr President, We’re In Trouble.’ With the next US election happening very soon,the opening track ‘We Do Not Forget’ addresses a different president through the words of poet, activist, essayist and teacher June Jordan (1936–2002). She delivers an indictment of an unjust imperialist war. The soundtrack to this is built around a jazzy reggae infused soundscape with the core of a strident piano. In the sound there is the hurt of the people involved in the conflict and the anger at the world of it being allowed to happen.

‘Forever War’ is a previously released single and the words I wrote in my review still remain unfortunately valid. World conflict has shifted up a gear with the Israel-Hamas war spreading its effects to neighbouring regions, the UK/US actions against Houthi in Yemen and US hawks calling for direct military action against Iran. And as though we needed it, military leaders in both the UK and US have ramped up demands for the increase in military forces because of the threat of Russia.

It is of course no coincidence that this year is an election year in the US and was in the UK;; current governments flexing their military muscles either directly or via proxies is always good for re-election. Anyone remember Thatcher’s war in the Falklands? And of course there are the numerous conflicts that have continued forever – often proxy wars,

I think it’s important to acknowledge the source of voices in the track. A narrative from Mnar Adley takes centre stage in the verses with additional passages from Alice Walker and Lorraine Hansberry, but the Forever War hook is voiced by an expanse of figures including Kurt Vonnegut, Noam Chomsky, Douglas Adams, bell hooks, Mike Ruppert and more. Angela Davis even makes a cameo doubling the phrase ‘military-industrial complex.’

The theme of the track is reflected in the music, and here they use a subtle – and undoubtedly appropriate – nod to Black Sabbath’s ‘War Pigs’ to set that musical stage. Musically the track is simple but complex, or complex but simple if you will. A striking melody line is set over subtle beats, samples of found sounds and words. While the music isn’t strident, the words hold the power of the track. The understated nature of the music somehow adds to the words.

The track is a protest song for now. It protests against not only governments but the beneficiaries of war – the military-industrial complex; the companies who lobby for conflict. Its message is an important one, one that we all need to take notice of.

‘To Be Hated and Thus Corrected’ may sound gentle musically but Fold are fooling you because the last thing this track is about is something gentle. The topic of this track is that anger and hate, applied appropriately, are good things, useful things. It appeals to the listener to be open to anger in the face of injustice and to channel that anger towards creatively challenging the edifices of injustice, rather than directing it back towards each other in toxic social media debates. It argues that there are things in this world that it is appropriate to hate, and that that hate should be channelled into making change. It challenges us to forgo our ‘everythings fine, and it’ll work out in the end’ approach. What it doesn’t do is specify what anyone should hate; Fold are leaving that to us.

The words that gently and powerfully educate us in this track are spoken by celebrated poet Gwendolyn Brooks and luminary author Richard Bach.

The music is good, beyond good and is strangely pastoral, beautiful, gentle and mesmirising. Glorious layers of sound whirl, swirl and waft over and around the hard beats and the found vocals.

‘The Painful Truth’ is about the suppression of dissent, and the music is a wonderful funky slow groove that is frankly rocking my world. It;s the musical equivalent of melted chocolate; melting over you in the most wonderful way. Horns that sound so good it hurts, a sparse drum track that grooves magically. And yet the music does more than this, it’s visual, it allows you to ‘see’ bell hooks saying the words.

The (spoken) words come from the before mentioned late bell hooks; carefully chosen and placed soundbites that weave an important message. The track reflects a society in which dissenting voices are being deliberately and increasingly stifled. Yet there is hope because, as hooks states, ‘people are really hungry for truth.’

Seth Mowshowitz of Fold says “We are continually impressed by bell hooks’ observations and with each new discovery we feel her loss more keenly. Like me, bell hooks was also a New Yorker. She was a professor at CUNY where my father taught for most of his career. This piece uses excerpts from a 2002 interview that triggers memories for me of how it felt to live in post-911 New York / USA. Dissident voices were ruthlessly silenced. Powerful forces took full advantage of the hurt and fear that people were experiencing. What bell hooks observed at that time was the beginning of a trend that has only increased since. We are now very much, as she puts it, ‘in danger of silencing any form of speech that goes against what is perceived to be the status quo.’ This is the perspective that we want to amplify right now.“

The importance of the message in this track right now is that, in my opinion, while the, let’s call them, the alt-right trumpet freedom of speech and cite being cancelled by the left; it appears that at the same time they seek to cancel the voices of those that disagree with them through both actions and legislation.

The closing track ‘Dark Matters’ is one I haven’t heard before. There is a power in both the words – provided by Mr Gee – and music together that left me incredibly sad,

Mr Gee describes this as “a bit of an anti-war, anti-everything piece’. It responds to the many humanitarian crises caused by wars across the world—from Gaza to Sudan and elsewhere—along with the global power structures facilitating them.

Mr Gee says ‘Humanity is capable of such great love, yet we fall down the same rabbit-holes. The recent events have really made me question everything. Dark Matters is inspired by my despair over War in general. Even when we try to take the stance of peace, sometimes we end up speaking the language of battle and becoming warriors once more’,

This is incredible, simply that.

To describe this release and the tracks on it as timely would be an understatement, The arc of the tracks take in world events in the recent past and present. But instead of addressing these in a simplistic way, Fold’s approach is thoughtful and seeks to educate. And they take as much care with the music. The music compels, it’s mesmerising. It has a groove that is uniquely Fold.

While I have heard these tracks in isolation, the combined effect of hearing them one after the other is powerful. It takes you on a journey. We Do Not Forget’ is music for the heart, soul, mind and body. This is simply wonderful.

What I have reviewed here is the digital release, the CD release – see below -gets three extra tracks.

The info

The music on this release has been remixed and remastered.

‘We Do Not Forget’ consists of 2 separate releases.

The digital release is a 5 track EP available on all other platforms.

The CD version (exclusive to Bandcamp) is an 8 track mini-album bundled with a hand-illustrated 28-page zine. Available here https://fold.bandcamp.com/album/we-do-not-forget

Tracks

1. We Do Not Forget
2. Forever War
3. To Be Hated and Thus Corrected
4. The Painful Truth
5. Dark Matters
6. Sustain
7. Take It All Back
8. I Just Try to Work It Out

I loved the first release I reviewed from Afrobaby – ‘LIGHTER’ – and I love ‘I’ll Keep Dancing’. This doesn’t always happen; there’ve been people whose first reviewed release I’ve absolutely adored and found the next disappointing. This isn’t because it sounds different from the first release; be assured I love artists and bands who make songs with different sounds or genres.

Afrobaby says that the song was ‘inspired by a candid conversation with friends about not letting other people’s opinions dictate her actions. I crafted this powerful message of empowerment. “I’ll Keep Dancing” stands not only as a personal declaration but also as a universal anthem for anyone battling self-doubt and striving to remain true to themselves’.

This theme is a continuation of the themes in ‘LIGHTER’ and indeed of the song themes in in her upcoming EP ‘Safe Space’

Musically the track takes elements of electro-pop, all out dance music and Drum & Bass into something that I would describe as a great pop song. And this song would be great if it did the danceable pop thing the whole way through but what raises it above the rest is the moody and atmospheric intro, dropout and outro. Exceptionally well put together music and words that are thoughtful and thought-provoking.

‘I’ll Keep Dancing’ is completely fabulous – great music and words that are definitely worth listening to properly. Compelling and addictive.