Descend

With their first full-length, the Danish emotional post-hardcore trio Puke Wolf have expanded and magnified the core tenet of their previous releases: Raw, untempered emotion. The word ‘Descend’ has two meanings that are integral to the album. One is to pass from a higher place to a lower one; the act of submerging oneself, whether that be in a physical or spiritual sense. The other is to originate from your ancestors. These two themes are at the center of the album’s lyrics, at times intertwining. The opening track, the spoken/screamed ‘Bær’, focuses entirely on an unhealthy relationship, while ‘Oh God, what have we done?’ begins by tackling a larger subject – our treatment of planet Earth and its resources – before gradually zooming in on one person’s way of grasping parenthood and their own upbringing. “This isn’t hate, it’s grief” guitarist Emil Vegeberg wails on ‘Remnants’, encapsulating the design at the very heart of ‘Descend’; this is an outlet, a cathartic experience.

As was the case on their previous release, ‘Interstice’, all three members of the band contribute with their own vocal styles: Drummer Andrew Davidson wields a high-pitched, lacerating howl, bassist Lasse Højgaard a deep, furious bellow, and guitarist Emil Vegeberg falls somewhere between these two extremes. But for ‘Descend’ the band has also enlisted quite a few different guests. On ‘Oh God, what have we done?’ Peter Clement Lund from the sludge trio Kollapse brutalizes the first verse, while Mai Soon Young Øvlisen from Meejah lends her hauntingly beautiful voice on ‘Flowers’. On ‘Hyena Laugh’, the gargantuan 11-minute composition, which acts as the climax of the record, the band is not only guested by all four members of the chaotic hardcore quartet Demersal, but also violinist Sophia Larsdotter from the string ensemble Who Killed Bambi. As the song nears the half-way mark, Sophia conjures up a desperately persistent, yet endlessly haunting string sound – a momentary reprieve before the song evolves into a sludgy onslaught, wherein a cacophony of voices all scream “Some swear they’ll change/but you never will”.

‘Descend’ is an album unafraid to plunge the listener headfirst into its seven songs, each of which challenges and rewards in its own way. From grandiose, post rock-inspired journeys to peaceful guitar driven passages, from relentlessly droning onslaughts to almost unnatural soundscapes, and from string-laced solemnity to straight up blast beats, the band rarely let genre conventions dictate. Most importantly, it has always been the ethos of Puke Wolf, that everything they produce must be cathartic, and ‘Descend’ is that notion taken to a higher level. It is their hope that the listener feels the same.

Master by Will Killingsworth @ Dead Air Studios.