Our Future Is An Absolute Shadow walk the listener through a quintessential chaotic rollercoaster filled with endearing twists and turns sure to remind you why Zegema Beach never disappoints.
Release date: January 15, 2024 | Zegema Beach Records | Bandcamp
Our Future Is An Absolute Shadow do a little more than just present a fresh screamo record here. The tracklist catapults from something that starts off with a sort of Midwest emo tinge, to immediately going into an almost melodic hardcore-like mountain of aggression, atmosphere, and wild riffs. “Mimitwo” plunges us right into the world of this band, with an almost start-and-stop style of swaying from abrasive, melodic, metallic passages into calmer, cleaner spaces with vocal embellishments to boot. The proceeding tracks, “Sometimes When I’m Falling Asleep I Think I’m Dying”, “Word of Ruin”, and a personal favorite, “The Shackles I Have Given Myself Are My Treasure” rip through similar tropes of rocky, headbang-worthy riffage, while incorporating melodies and dynamics that turn each track into a trapeze act of varying degrees of intensity with each passing second. In short – this album grinds and shines from start to finish.
You wouldn’t expect an album that runs so hard off the rails to express as emotively as this one does, but tracks like “Strike Zone Pro Set Box Set” and “Figrin Damn” create a trance of sorts for the listener, even while absolutely pummeling your ear drums. The way every song manages to blend seamlessly into one another, create so much with so little, and boldly parade its rawness, yet boasts a pristine production quality – Our Future Is An Absolute Shadow have created lullabies for the dystopian reality of which their name alone describes. This appearing after their 2020 Recordings record from 2021, it serves as a strong follow-up. I’ve mentioned before that Zegema Beach have quite the ear for what’s top-notch in the world of screamo, grindcore, mathcore, chaotic, and otherwise. But even knowing that anything with their name attached to it is going to be a hit, it was hard not to find myself still pleasantly surprised.
With LP being just as straightforward as it is diverse, much of what I have to say about it could pretty much be summed up to ‘Hey, this album is just really good and needs your attention‘, especially if you’re the type of person who only keeps Calculating Infinity or any of the Dimitri-era Dillinger Escape Plan material in regular rotation, as well as acts like Jeromes Dream, Deadguy, The Chariot, etc. There will definitely be something across this 15-track chaosphere that will pique your interests. Not to mention, this band makes yet another bold case of the power of 3-piece bands, and Adrian, Jesse, and Dave perform like each has a clone of themselves to fill any potentially empty spaces in the wall of sound heavily projected from start to finish. Long story short, this record is fun, has its finesse, and highlights what a great skramz record is all about.
It’s wild when an album that is essentially intended to express sporadic, adrenaline-inducing, odd-rhythmic compositional prowess representing the most honest passions of those conducting it still manages to incite somber and even somewhat introspective feelings just on sound alone. For me, personally, there’s certain guitar parts, maybe it’s the sound they have going itself, but it hits a particular nerve in just the right ways that bring up this almost nostalgic, yet content feeling. I’m not exactly sure how to describe it in much better detail, but something about the atmosphere of the tracks feel both familiar and simultaneously new; Like I’m reminded of a great time in my life that ties in with music, even, and still excited in a way that I’ve discovered something new and unlike what I’ve heard before. Honestly, the best way I can put it is that listening to this record takes me back to the days of going into your local record store, seeing something with a cool album cover and knowing nothing else about it, giving it a listen, and having your whole life changed in the course of 20-30 minutes (about as long as the record is) – that’s the level of inspiration something like LP has, in my perspective.
Don’t just take my word for it, though! Slide on over to Bandcamp and give this bad boy a purchase, stream, and inevitably place in your own heart. I can assure you, there will be at least one track off this record that’s going to make you a fan, especially if you’re into skramz. Our Future Is An Absolute Shadow are headed in a bold, powerful direction if this is the type of quality we can expect on a consistent basis from them. Even though I can’t find much in the way of social media for the band, it seems that Zegema Beach‘s YouTube and Bandcamp page supply a fair enough amount of outlet to keep up with the band – so, follow accordingly!
