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Wlots

Paperking

Written by: PP on 24/03/2022 15:09:42

Here's a straggler from 2021, but one that deserves your attention. Wlots is a Swedish screamo / skramz band referencing all your favorite pioneers in the genre from Saetia to Hot Cross, as well as the more recent revivalist bands like Suis La Lune, Record Setter, and even Touché Amoré. Based on that definition, you should know what to expect: crackling screams that sound like the microphone is about to disintegrate from the sheer violence of their vocalist's razor-sharp delivery, breakneck speed tempo that borders powerviolence in the vein of United Nations, and enough urgency and immediacy to grab your attention no matter what else you might be doing while listening to the record.

Their sophomore album "Paperking" takes all that a step further and integrates ambient passages that encompass the soundscape in a chilling atmosphere, much like La Dispute does on their poetry-driven records. It adds massive variety to the record and allows a song like the title track to embed back-chilling melodies into its otherwise cacophonous and volatile stance. In that sense, it has eerie similarities to what Pianos Become The Teeth did on "The Lack Long After" - only except post-rock, Wlots are using ambience instead to expand their soundscape.

Consequently, "Paperking" is an album that can take you from noise-laden chaos to melancholic melodies in what feels like an instant. The desperate screams and murky screamo landscapes are a perfect match for the calmer buildups, a classic quiet/loud mechanic taking good effect here. This alone should ensure more exposure to Wlots as it does distinguish them from the breadth of other screamo bands attempting to revive the genre's 90s origins.

Download: Skramz Part II, Rooftop Nerves, Paperking
For the fans of: Touché Amoré, Saetia, Suis La Lune, Record Setter, United Nations, La Dispute
Listen: Facebook

Release date 30.09.2021
Deep Elm Records