ARTERY

"Artery" is the second outing by the UK trio Brontide and although it doesn't have the same diverse range of genres and styles that their debut "Sans Souci" displays, it makes up for it by feeling more concise in the compositional department, with more bridges to connect developing themes and less frantically jumping from motif to motif.

"Tonitro" begins with an atmospheric buildup but the whole song feels like a buildup. Even when the guitars and drums enter halfway through, there's no real climax. Sure, there's technically an ending, but it feels like a false alarm as the music fades to electronic noise. Only as it segues into "Bare My Bones" do we actually have a a feeling of a proper intro. Yes, there's more buildup here, but this one actually feels tangible. It grooves, it sings, the guitar tones have a proper place and feel, the melody drives drives you on in a triumphant manner as the drums rock out behind a swath of power chords. And yet it's only halfway through when the drums cut and the snare begins a furious assault do we get a climax. The resulting breakdown is intoxicating. It's such a great groove and it becomes instantly memorable, something that was rather lacking on the debut record. Sure the other half of the song is a melodic soundscape with plucking, wilting guitars, but it's that 30 seconds of pure rock awesomeness in the middle that makes the previous seven or so minutes totally worth it.

"Kith and Kin" decides to go in a different direction that the band has never gone before, more in the realm of indie alt rock stylings, and it works. Interspersing with some calm post rock passages and finishing with a groovy electronic beat at the end, rather minimalist but still a pleasant track, while "Cabin" gets funky with some disco beats to underpin their post rock sound.

"Knives" is the longest track on the record and the most straightforward, lengthy soft passages building to loud climaxes and the drums being the forefront the entire time even to the very end, even channeling Mastodon in some chords in the middle, a far cry from "Still Life" which features no drums at all, just minimalist guitar plucking, almost evoking an early emo vibe a la American Football. Nice.

"Caramel" is short and sweet, much like the candy namesake, which features one long buildup to the very end that wouldn't feel out of place on a pop punk record (can totally imagine Jonny Craig on vocals there), while the album concludes with "Red Gold", another guitar showpiece, with the song's signature thematic motif rising above the building guitars in minimalist fashion, going out in a blaze of glory roughly three minutes in before the remainder of the track is followed with ambient noise and bird calls (also one of the few non Christmas songs to feature sleigh bells as well, fun fact).

All in all, another great record from this plucky English trio. Sure, in terms of musicality, it's nowhere near the showcase of abilities that "Sans Souci" is, but in terms of songwriting, these songs are better. This album has more memorable moments that are worth second and even third listens (and my god, the peak of "Bare My Bones" just never gets old). In that regard, it's a more polished album that its predecessor and hopefully should this band follow up with a third release, it could combine the best of both albums and knock it out of the park, because these guys totally have that ability.

4.5