Review: “Self Titled” by Dyatlove

Recorded at Rain City Recorders with Matt Roach over the course of a few days, Vancouver Canada’s Dyatlove wanted to get things right for their debut record and capture the same intense passion and emotion that they bring to the jam space and commit it to tape. The quartet comprise an axis of Sam Caviglia (guitar/vocals) and Rikki Jennings-Buford (guitar) and a rhythm section of Rob Sheldrick (drums) and Justin Lacey (bass) and are believers in limitless creativity. They don’t tie themselves to classic song structures, peferring to embrace the emotive and often eclectic and diverse nuances of some of their influences. This is a collection of songs about love of family, songs about loss, songs about anger and songs about struggles and addictions all wrapped up in the confines of half an hour’s worth of music…

Some programming adds complexity to the sombre opening half of “Pass The Heavens” with its mournful brooding combining elements of PJ Harvey and Neurosis and creating depth and beautiful of painful fragility. That is shattered, broken into a million tiny pieces by a sludgy drop A riff that smashes the mirror with a clenched fist and brings from sorrow the headbang you’d least expect at the start. A tale of two songs combined together in sonic perfection, it’s nothing short of stunning. The eclectic sung vocals pick up once more at the start of “Empty Lungs” and build into angry screams as the bone crushing Sludge Metal riffs of the likes of Crowbar take hold like a drug pumping through your veins. There is a Meloncholy ache to the angst ridden screams as  Caviglia screams “You left me here with empty lungs” with the kind of emotional resonance that connects and pulls on the heart strings with its gravity. Single “Fragile Fixation” was an obvious choice with some brighter moments piercing the dark clouds with some lead moments and more traditional structure. It still has the thunderous percussive sounds of the earlier pair of tracks and the atmosphere but stands apart with its piano conclusion and sorter running time as a cut with less of that experimentation about it. “Old Haunts” returns to the longer run time and as Caviglia screams “No I’m not scared“, the building false ending makes way for the brutal roar of a far heavier track which continues the whirlwind of pent up emotional energy that is released in the cathartic creation of this record. It strikes a intriguing balance between light and shade musically which matches off the lyrical depth with texture of its own. The trumpet solo is going to be the least expected moment here but its absolutely brilliant and adds piece of Jazz club ambience that is a wonderful and thoughtful addition. If you’re lucky enough to snap up a copy with the bonus track “Die! Kill! Pig!” then you’re in for three minutes of Sludgy Hardcore with rapid fire artillery drumming, oceans of feedback and screaming guitars that probably wouldn’t fit anywhere else on the record but is a solid addition that will leave your face smiling.and your ears ringing [7.5/10]

Track Listing:
1. Pass The Heavens (8:14)
2. Empty Lungs (6:53)
3. Fragile Fixation (4:51)
4. Old Haunts (8:11)
5. Die! Kill! Pig! (2:52)*
*(track 5 only on Cassette and Vinyl Version released by Coup Sur Coup Records)

“Self Titled” by Dyatlove is out 29th May with pre-orders available here