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Rich Widows

Wreckage & Remorse

Written by: PP on 13/12/2022 16:45:01

Having a festival like Groezrock in your backyard does wonders for your local punk rock scene. Hailing from Mechelen, Rich Widows is yet another Belgian punk rock upstart displaying the variety of styles available once you start digging through their scene. This time around, we're in Hot Water Music territory, so as you might imagine, it's tightly played, dense punk rock characterized by gravelly vocals and a soundscape that's rough around the edges.

"Wreckage & Remorse" is their debut album. It varies between breakneck speed punk rock with smoky vocals (like the opening track "The Brittle") to mid-tempo chuggers like "Queen Of Disgust". The guitars are dirtily distorted and the vocals are murky and gruff, recalling material by the underrated UK equivalent Harker on their sophomore album "Axiom". There are atmospheric pieces like "Reach Out" and "Motel Room (Reprise)", and more typical scene sing-alongs on "Forget Me" and "Deceit".

Essentially, Rich Widows draw their stylistic expression from the likes of Nothington, Small Brown Bike, and Samiam with plenty of Chuck Ragan influence on top. It's effectively Midwestern punk with a slightly heavier, almost metallic edge than you're used to hearing. As such, the gravelly vocals are aggressively lined at times, but it's also interesting to hear a different take than the usual one.

The production could use a little more polish and room. Currently, the instrumentals are tight but sound too confined. The vocals, while decent, also don't quite sound effortless at this point. But either way, the songwriting is already where it should be with plenty of solid tracks that should appeal to the Hot Water Music crowd. But that's probably where their appeal is limited to, currently.

Download: Forget Me, Into The Abyss, Deceit, Queen Of Disgust
For the fans of: Harker, Nothington, Hot Water Music, Small Brown Bike, Samiam, North Lincoln
Listen: Facebook

Release date 23.04.2022
Lost Youth Records